Traditional French Ratatouille Cooked in Clay: Paleo and Vegetarian

I really like Ratatouille.

Especially since I watched the movie of the same name, what a cute little rat!   Seriously though, I think Ratatouille is French for “go pick everything in the garden and throw it in your slow cooker.” - rough translation. (I don’t speak French).

I like it because it’s so fresh and vibrant. It reminds me of just growing a bunch of veggies in the garden and then eating them all at once in an amazing, delicious dish. What could possibly be better than a traditional French peasant dish? I can’t think of anything.

So I’m going to put the common recipe here, but what I love most about this dish is that you can really use anything you’ve got on hand. You have celery but no zucchini? No problem! Thyme but no oregano? It’s cool; it’ll just have a totally different flavor, but it will still be delicious! It’s vegetarian, but obviously a protein of choice can also be added pretty easily.

     

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup broth (home-made is freshest, healthiest, and most economical!)
• 2 eggplants, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 large zucchini, sliced
• 3 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 6 tomatoes: halved, seeded, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 bunch basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper (just before serving)

Directions:

1. Pour broth into the bottom of the VitaClay pot.
2. Layer VitaClay pot with vegetables and herbs, starting with the eggplants and reserving fresh basil
3. Cook on "stew" setting for 1-2 hours.
4. Add basil and drizzle with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve.