Vegan Ratatouille

For health reasons, I've had to go almost entirely vegan. The only animal products I can consume are egg, in minute amounts, and honey. Because of this I've begun to explore a lot of the foods in the vegan and raw world, as I transition to a diet that is gentler on my body.

One of my favorite French foods is ratatouille. And since it's in season, I made it last night and let me say, it was phenomenal. So delicious. Serve this with some rustic French or Italian bread, or over mashed potatoes.

Serves 8.

You Will Need:

• 1 small eggplant, sliced in half lengthwise, unpeeled
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced and seperated into rings
• Olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 small red or yellow bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 1 large zuchini, cubed or cut into thin sticks
• 1 14 oz can of whole tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 3-4 fresh sprigs of thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp ground pepper
• 1 cup vegetable broth

Preheat oven to 350 F. Score the inside of each half of the eggplant and brush with olive oil. Place eggplant skin-side up on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until skin is shrivelled.

While eggplant is baking, in a large pot add about a tbsp of olive oil and heat over medium heat. Once oil is heated, add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic, and saute for 1 minute. Then add bell pepper and zuchini. Cook, stirring occassionally, until vegetables have begun to soften (about 10 minutes).

When the eggplant is ready, take it out of the oven and let cool. Once it's cool enough to cut, cut it into bite-size pieces. Add the eggplant to the pot. Stir.

In can, chop up tomatoes into reasonable pieces. Pour, juice and all into the pot. Add garbanzo beans, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally for about five minutes.

Add vegetable broth. Stir. Cover and let cook (still at medium heat), for about 20 minutes. Or until you can't stand to wait any longer. Either works.

Serve and enjoy. :) I garuntee it will be one of the most incredibly delicious healthy, seasonal foods you have ever eaten.

This recipe was adapted from the Students Go Vegan Cookbook by Carole Raymond.