Recipe - Mushroom Ratatouille

I don't share it often with people but I have a slight sensitivity to eggplant. I'm not allergic or anything but I definitely feel some kind of effect when I do get a bite or two in of the purple plant. My lips and tongue get buzzy along with a little bit of irritation in the throat sooooo it is generally safer to just avoid it altogether. However, ratatouille has always intrigued me because it is a dish that contains a variety of other favorite vegetables. Once I participated in the Mushroom Makeover though, I realized that perhaps I should just replace the eggplant with mushroom and be okay with the rest of this vegetarian/vegan dish! We lost nothing in translation and ended up with a very hearty, comfort food dish. The only thing you'll have to worry about is all the prep work but at the end of it all, it'll be worth it.


Step 1: Ingredients (yields 4-6 servings)

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced (1 cup)
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, diced (1-2 cups)
• 2 zucchini squash, diced (3-4 cups)
• 1 large yellow squash, diced (2-3 cups)
• 4 Roma tomatoes, diced (1-2 cups)
• 1/2 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp thyme
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Step 2: Prepping the ingredients
Like I said, hardest part of the whole dish is the prepwork. Chop and dice as needed. In a large pot, heat up olive oil and saute garlic and onions until onions start to get translucent. Next add in bell peppers which will release less water when cooking. Then add in cremini mushrooms and squashes. Stir in pot until mushrooms have cooked down.


Step 3: Finishing
The last parts will be the juiciest ingredients and the seasonings. I added seasoning last to really let the vegetables' natural flavors marry together in themselves. Stir all together until tomatoes have just barely turned to stew-like softness. Turn off heat and enjoy hot!


Photography by Duc Duong.