Easy Lo-Cal Ratatouille and Variations

I’ve made ratatouille for decades, ever since my vegetarian days of long ago. In the past, I made it with lots of olive oil (eggplant positively drinks olive oil!) and lots of work. This is much easier and just as delicious. I’m on the 5:2 Fast Diet (I eat 500 calories on Mondays and Thursdays and “normally” the rest of the week. It’s a great lifestyle change. Google it if you’d like more information). Anyhow, this recipe is VERY low in calories. However, it’s also very low in protein, so if you want to eat it as a main dish and you can afford the calories, toss in an 8 ounce can of garbanzo beans (drained). Or you can serve it as a side dish to any meat, fish or foul. Or eat it my favorite way—stuffed into split pita bread with hummus. Yum!

(By the way, I have never ever gone to the trouble of salting an eggplant to get the bitterness out. I’ve probably cooked three hundred eggplants in my life and have only hit one that was too bitter to enjoy. I’d skip the salting.

Servings: Totally depends on how you’re using it.

Easy Lo-Cal Ratatouille

Ingredients

-1 large onion, cut into medium pieces

-1 clove garlic, crushed

-2 large peppers (I used yellow and red), cut into 1 inch pieces

-8 ounces sliced or quartered mushrooms (optional. I didn’t have any when I made the dish above)

-1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

-2 medium zucchinis halved lengthwise, then cut into half-inch pieces

-1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with basil

-1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

-s and p, if you insist

-grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Directions

-Pour the itty bitty bit of olive oil into a large non-stick frying pan and spread it over the bottom with a brush

-saute the onions over medium heat until almost translucent. Stir often and watch the heat to keep from burning. The teeny amount of oil makes this a bit tricky, so be careful.

-add the garlic and give it a stir. You don’t want it to burn.

-add the peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, and zucchini and cook for a few minutes, stirring every once in a while. It looks like a ton, but it will cook down so don’t freak out.

-add the tomatoes, undrained, and the Italian seasoning

-cover and cook until everything’s tender and looking good

-dish it out and sprinkle with parmesan cheese

Enjoy!