Chickpea Ratatouille

I made this ratatouille the other night when I realized I had many vegetables I could easily turn into this dish. I encourage you to improvise with this recipe, if you have other vegetables you would like to use like squash or mushrooms- feel free! Use the recipe as a guideline and then feel free to be creative. I also took the opportunity to introduce you to the concept of “purging” eggplants, in other words, taking out its bitterness and making it yummier! Eggplant is one of those vegetables that some people are intimidated by. There are so many wonderful dishes you can make with it, check out these eggplant cooking methods.

Ingredients

1 cup chickpeas

1 tbs olive tapenade

3 zucchinis

2 eggplants

3 peppers (green, red, orange..or whatever color you like)

1 large can herbed crushed tomatoes  (or fresh tomatoes)

1 tbs Harissa (red chili pepper equivalent will do)

2 onions

3 garlic cloves

bunch of fresh parsley

olive oil to coat

Salt.pepper

1 tbs thyme

Chop onion into small peices and toss into wide deep dish pan or wok with olive oil and 1 chopped garlic clove on medium heat.Once onions begin to brown and become transluscent, add in chopped peppers, cubed and “purged” eggplant (see intructions below) and cubed zucchini.

Next add in the rinsed chickpeas and diced tomatoes (with liquid), thyme, harissa and olive tapenade. Cook all together on medium heat until vegetables get soft and sauce begins to thicken. Right before serving add chopped parley and a dollop of yogourt or ricotta. Serve over brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat cous cous.

Purging eggplants:

Purging eggplants is a good way of taking out the bitterness that might accompany the vegetable, and it is also a way of cut eggplant into 1/2′ slices, place on cookie sheet and apply salt liberally. Here’s a great how-to video