By definition, ratatouille is a French dish of stewed vegetables, but there are some conflicting opinions as to what the exact rules are for calling a dish by that name...
So, slipping into the gray category of what is and what is not, I am calling this dish my version of a ratatouille!
It all started with a zucchini...
A really BIG zucchini!
the zucchini inspired me to pull a few of the onions from the garden as well, and the dish sort of took off from there!
Ingredients:
1 bag of cheese and spinach tortellini
1 bell pepper, red yellow or orange
1 large onion (or many small onions)
1 can diced tomatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tblsp chopped fresh basil for garnish
Start by mincing all that garlic...
I recommend using a garlic chopper, but it can, of course, be done by hand as well...
I usually ask the kids to help with this part...
Which can lead to unfortunate mishaps!
No worries, an Italian kitchen is supposed to smell like garlic, right?!
Anyway, next, get your large pot of water boiling for the tortellini, and heat the oil and minced garlic on medium in a large saute pan...
While that's heating up, chop your onion, pepper, and zucchini into bite size pieces...
Throw all the veggies into the garlic and olive oil and allow to simmer for a minute or two before adding the can of tomatoes...
Go ahead and add the salt and pepper, and that pinch of heat!
While all of that veggie goodness is simmering together, chop up your fresh basil...
This basil came from my little herb garden, I am just so proud! It smells amazing, and the easiest way to chop it is to roll the leaves together and carefully slice the bunch into ribbons...
Cook and drain the pasta according to the instructions, and add that into your vegetable mixture, top the whole thing off with your basil...
voila!
Wait a minute, you know me better than that by now...
That's better!
Now, to bring on the food critics...
And yes, there it is, that darling face I've come to expect and cherish...
That's a little more encouraging!
I believe her exact words were, "yum yum yum!"
And despite his contrary expression, Noah suggested that I open a restaurant with all my great food! He suggested $30,000 per plate before reconsidering it down to a more reasonable $10...
Still high praise in my book!
And, since I only used half of that enormous zucchini in the ratatouille dish, I was able to use the other half to make...
zucchini pizzas! (Find that recipe HERE)
It looks amazing! When did you find time to do this one?! I can almost smell the fresh basil from your garden through the computer! (Almost!)
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