Ratatouille! (pronounced Rat-A-Tooey)

Is that summer squash in your garden (or your neighbor's) piling up on you? If so make this great tasting dish that was the subject of the animated movie Ratatouille. Do you remember the scene where all the rats came into the kitchen to help because the kitchen staff walked out when they discovered the rat in there working? I don't care how friendly those rats were, that scene gave me the chills. If you haven't seen the movie, rent it, its really fun to watch.

Usually you bake this in the oven, but it can also be simmered stove top. I decided to make it super easy and prepare it in a crock pot. The house smelled great when we came home to eat.

Ingredients:

Eggplant - 1 large or 2 small (I used 4 because they were the extra small ones I grew in my garden) cube into 1 inch pieces, salt (directions below) and rinse.
Sea Salt -1/4 cup
2 Zucchini - cubed into 1 inch pieces
2 yellow squash - cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion - chopped
2 bell peppers (yellow, red and/or green) chopped
or 1/2 jar of roasted peppers - chopped
2 large tomatoes - cored & chopped or 1 can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic - minced
basil 1/4 cup fresh - chopped or 1 TBSP dried
1/3 cup  olive oil
black pepper and additional sea salt to taste.

Directions: 

Cube the eggplant and sprinkle with the sea salt (I use the pink Himalayan, but any other coarse salt will work as well. Let sit in a colander set in a bowl for an hour to drain the liquid out of the eggplant. Rinse eggplant in cold water to remove the salt.

Mix all of the ingredients and place into the crock pot, cook on high (4-6 hours) or low (8-10 hours) depending on your schedule.

When you are ready to eat you can add some grated Parmesan or Reggiano cheese  if you like.

Enjoy, its delicious.