Belated Food Revolution Friday Post

For the past few weeks, I've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on TV. Only now did I discover (thanks to sassy_red_head ) that food bloggers have started Food Revolution Fridays -- a fantastic idea!

Although mine is not a food blog, I thought I'd jump in anyways and share something I made last Wednesday: Ratatouille. This is one of those recipes that takes a little bit of time to set up but all the steps are super easy. Basically, just chop a bunch of ingredients and add them, one at a time, to the pot. What's better is that all of the ingredients are easy to find at the supermarket -- nothing weird, esoteric, or expensive.

Also, the proportions can be easily adjusted. This recipe is from The Professional Chef, which lists the ingredients by weight. I just estimated the amounts and it still turned out wonderfully. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo to add to my growing collection.

Ratatouille
(Serves 10)

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 340g medium-dice onions (I used three small-ish onions)
• 21g garlic, minced (I used about 3 cloves)
• 28g tomato paste (I used half of a small 6oz can)
• 113 g medium-dice green pepper (I used 2 small-medium ones)
• 454g medium-dice eggplant (I used one eggplant, and diced it a little smaller than the other ingredients)
• 340g zucchini (I bought 3 small ones so I used them all, but 2 is probably enough)
• 170g sliced white mushrooms
• 227g tomatoes, peeled,seeded and diced (I didn't bother to peel or seed the three I used)
• 120mL vegetable stock, or as needed (I used closer to 175mL)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• freshly chopped herb, such as basil, parsley or oregano as garnish (I skipped this)

1. In large pot, heat oil over medium heat (just enough to cover bottom of pot, usually about 30-50 mL). Add onions and cook until translucent, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until soft, about 1 minute.
2. Turn down heat to medium-low. Add tomato paste and cook until it coasts the onions and develops a deeper colour, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the other vegetables in the following order, cooking each vegetable for 2-3 minutes (until it softens) before adding the next:
   • peppers
   • eggplant
   • zucchini
   • mushrooms
   • tomatoes
4. Add vegetable stock and turn heat down to low, allowing vegetables to stew. Stew until vegetables are tender. Vegetables should be moist but not soupy. Season with salt and pepper, optionally garnish with herbs, and serve immediately with crusty bread.