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I really love leftovers. You are hungry but you don't feel like cooking anything...You open the fridge and there is food that you just need to warm up--ready in a jiffy. I especially like things that you can serve a variety of ways. My dear friend Adi--our community Shlicha for the past year pictured here with Tali when we visited Chapel Hill a few weeks ago, will be leaving in the morning. So this posting is dedicated to her. This dish is one of her favorites.
The recipe is called 1/2 day Ratatouille because it only takes 4 hours to make it in the slow cooker. I usually serve it over couscous, but by a happy accident I found an even more delicious way. The recipe calls for pesto. I had mixed my leftover pesto with noodles and it dawned on me that the flavors might blend nicely if I served the ratatouille over these noodles and pesto. Amazing.
Half day Ratatouille (From "Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 small eggplant diced
1 small yellow onion diced
1 small red pepper seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves minced
One 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes wit their juice
2 small zucchini cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. Pesto (recipe to follow)
1. Heat 1 Tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to your slow cooker.
2. Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the onion to the slow cooker along with the bell pepper, garlic, zucchinis, tomatoes and their juice and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 4 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
3. Just before serving add the pesto.
Pesto
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 cups of fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1. Combine the garlic and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped.
2. Add the basil, salt and pepper and ground until it is a paste.
3. With the machine running add the olive oil slowly until well blended.
Enjoy
The recipe is called 1/2 day Ratatouille because it only takes 4 hours to make it in the slow cooker. I usually serve it over couscous, but by a happy accident I found an even more delicious way. The recipe calls for pesto. I had mixed my leftover pesto with noodles and it dawned on me that the flavors might blend nicely if I served the ratatouille over these noodles and pesto. Amazing.
Half day Ratatouille (From "Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 small eggplant diced
1 small yellow onion diced
1 small red pepper seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves minced
One 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes wit their juice
2 small zucchini cut into 1/4 inch rounds
1 tsp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs. Pesto (recipe to follow)
1. Heat 1 Tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to your slow cooker.
2. Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of oil to the same skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the onion to the slow cooker along with the bell pepper, garlic, zucchinis, tomatoes and their juice and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on Low for 4 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
3. Just before serving add the pesto.
Pesto
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup of pine nuts
2 cups of fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup of olive oil
1. Combine the garlic and pine nuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped.
2. Add the basil, salt and pepper and ground until it is a paste.
3. With the machine running add the olive oil slowly until well blended.
Enjoy