Ratatouille

Ratatouille is one of my favorite recipes to have made up and sitting around to turn into lots of different meals. It's good over pasta, grains, couscous, or polenta, on pizza, in pita pockets, or eaten by itself like stew with a drizzle of olive oil. The optional dulse flakes are a great source of minerals.

Ratatouille

olive oil

1 large onion

5 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

1 t marjoram or oregano

1 1/2 t basil

pinch of red chili flakes

1 t chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/2 t dried)

several sprigs thyme

Chop these veggies into about 1/2-3/4 inch cubes:

1 globe eggplant

2 red peppers

3 small zucchini

15 oz can diced tomatoes and their juice

salt and black pepper

about 20 kalamata olives, sliced

2 T dulse flakes, if available

Cover the bottom of a dutch oven with olive oil. Saute the onion with a sprinkle of salt over medium heat until softened. Add the garlic, all of the herbs (just put the whole thyme sticks in) and the chili flakes. Saute until fragrant. Add the eggplant and sprinkle with salt. Lower the heat a bit, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until just tender (12 minutes). Add peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and juice, another pinch of salt, and black pepper to taste. Cover and cook about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until everything is tender. Remove bay leaf and thyme sticks, scraping any leaves still clinging to the sticks back into the pot. Stir in olives and dulse if using, and taste for salt and pepper. Serve.