Experimental Ratatouille

This is one of my experimental recipes. I've found a bunch of ratatouille recipes on line and in cookery books. I kind of liked the layered idea in this one. It may be that I'll just pan saute the whole thing, but I'd like to see what you all think first!

not mine, but I thought it was pretty ratatouille!

Experimental Ratatouille

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 eggplant

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 t thyme

Crushed red pepper to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 t basil

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 zucchini, sliced thin

1 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced thin

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

2 T Romano cheese - optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray Pam inside a 1 1/2 quart casserole.

Cut all vegetables except the eggplant and measure your spices to make assembly a snap.

Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium high skillet over medium heat. Saute onion until soft. While the onion is sautéing, quickly dice the eggplant and add the diced bits to the pan as they are chopped until the entire eggplant is in the pan. Exposure to air is not a friend of eggplants and one reason it is often bitter or soggy. Add the chopped garlic and stir until the eggplant is soft (10 minutes or so). Add parsley and other seasonings – stir well.

Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with some of the cheese.

Add alternating layers of zucchini and cheese, mushrooms and cheese, bell pepper and cheese, and finally tomatoes and cheese on top of the eggplant.

Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 30 minutes, remove the lid and allow the cheese to brown and the juices to evaporate a bit.

Top with a sprinkle of Romano cheese and serve with couscous.