White Eggplant Ratatouille

On Saturday, Chris and I went to the Pepper Place Farmer's Market. We watched a cooking demonstration by a local chef and picked up some goodies. I didn't have anything in mind to do with my purchases (except for zucchini bread, which I will post later), but I just couldn't say no to the white eggplant. I had never seen it before and I was very intrigued. The woman that was helping me said that it has a milder flavor than purple eggplant. Cool! I got home and looked up what I could make with all my produce and I came up with.....

White Eggplant Ratatouille

Traditional ratatouille has tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, onions, garlic, bell peppers, carrots and herbs. (Wikipedia) Some people layer it in a dish (like on the cartoon movie!), but I sautéed it and mixed it all together. I did not want to use carrots, so a quick trip to the store to grab a red onion and I was set. I made a simple basil dressing to go over the ratatouille with my farmer's market basil. Look at this beautiful stuff!

 white eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper

fresh basil

White Eggplant Ratatouille

     serves 8

3 small white eggplants 

Sea salt

2 zucchini

Pint of cherry tomatoes

1 red bell pepper

1 red onion

For the dressing:

10 fresh basil leaves

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 T olive oil

2 garlic cloves

Wash all produce and leave skins on. Cut white eggplant into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch discs. Sprinkle with sea salt and let them sit while preparing all other produce. The salt will help them "sweat" a little liquid out. They should sit about 20 minutes. 

Blot eggplant with a paper towel to remove liquid and cut discs into about 6 bite sized pieces each. 

Meanwhile, cut the zucchini, red onion and red pepper into bite sized pieces. 

Using the largest skillet you have (I still had to sauté this in two batches), heat to medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Sauté eggplant for 10-15 minutes; it should be tender-firm. Pour in a large bowl and set aside.

Re-heat skillet and spray again. Pour zucchini, red onion and red pepper in skillet and sauté. 

 

This will not take as long as the eggplant did. Sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, then add whole cherry tomatoes. Cook for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and add to eggplant. 

For the dressing, in a food processor, combine basil, garlic, oregano and olive oil and blend until desired texture. Pour over ratatouille. Serve warm. 

I love that none of the color was lost when it was cooked. And the eggplant was great! It was a little sweeter than purple eggplant.

As you can see, I left the dressing a little chunky. It really had so much flavor that I didn't need to add salt! This warm salad would be great over pasta or with chicken.

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