Very similar in construction to the French version but with a Greek twist. It features the addition of bell peppers, Feta cheese, mushrooms, peas, and potatoes. This makes it a much heartier meal. Tasting Guidelines: Taste is savory and hearty. Weight is light but can be balanced with savory. Texture is soft. Good for people with low to moderate treatment side effects. Best categorized as classic home style Greek.
1medium oval eggplantcut into quarters and sliced thin
2medium size zucchinicut into quarters and sliced thin
1lb.red potatoescubed
1green bell peppersliced into this strips
1red bell peppersliced into thin strips
28ozcan tomatoespetite diced
8oz.portabella mushroomssliced
1large red onionsliced
1/2c.olive oil
Flavor Balancers
kosher salt
2tbsp.soy sauce
1c.red wine
1/2tbsp.freshly ground black pepper
2shakes red pepper flakes
2tbsp.red wine vinegar
2tbsp.sugar
Aromatics
2tbsp.garlicminced
1tbsp.dried oregano
2tbsp.Italian flat leaf parsleychopped
Garnish
crusty bread to serveThis is optional. It depends on the severity of mouth sores when you make this dish.
Instructions
The very first step in this recipe is to do what I call “defunking” the eggplant. Eggplant is a naturally bitter food. So to avoid this, we have to do a small amount of additional prep to remove the funkiness and end up with a delicious savory product.
Slice the eggplant into quarter inch thick circles. Then take a colander and line it with paper towels. Sprinkle a little bit of salt on the paper. Now pick up our first slice of eggplant and sprinkle salt on both sides. Lay it down in colander. Pick up your second slice of eggplant and repeat salting method and lay on top of previous placed eggplant slice. Repeat this method, making layers of eggplant and salting in between each layer as you stack. Allow colander to sit in a sanitized sink for at least 30 minutes while eggplant is defunking.
While eggplant is defunking, preheat oven to 375°After 30 minutes, rinse your eggplant thoroughly, and cut the rounds into quarters. Now mix all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a large roasting pan. (Think turkey size.) Bake at 375°F until juices from vegetables have baked off and ratatouille has a thick consistency, about 90 – 120 minutes. Serve with crusty bread and cheese.
Notes
If you do this in a slow cooker, do not use canned diced tomatoes, as there is too much liquid. Use about 6 Roma tomatoes cut into 1/8 wedges.