Eggplant Ratatouille with Creamy Polenta
This year was another great year for eggplants in our garden. We’ve been pretty successful with them in the past, but maybe being home everyday this summer made me appreciate all our vegetables a little more. Jeff built a pretty impressive raised garden after we bought our house, in the sunniest spot on the side of the house, and it fills out great when the vegetables start producing.
Eggplant has always been one of my favorite things to eat, from eggplant parmesan to eggplant moussaka and pretty much all dishes in between. Although, eggplant ratatouille might actually take the number one spot. I love this recipe with eggplant, kale and beans. The only thing that makes it better is spooning it on top of creamy polenta.
I always find it rare to enjoy a dish that is as satisfying on a cold winter night as it is on a hot summer one, but this really does it for me!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 TBS olive oil
- 1 eggplant
- 1 bunch of kale, swiss chard or collard greens
- 1 can of cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 can red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 can diced tomato (drained)
- 1 glove garlic (minced)
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried thyme
Creamy polenta
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup white cornmeal polenta
- 2 TBS butter
- 1 cup grated parmesan
Instructions
- Polenta: pour your milk, water and salt into a sauce pan and set to high. Watch carefully to make sure your liquid doesn’t boil over, if you are unaware, hot milk on the stove is a disaster to clean. Once your liquid starts boiling stir in your cornmeal and turn down your polenta to low. Continue to stir for 30 minutes, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Once finish, remove from heat and stir in the butter and cheese.
- Ratatouille: add olive oil to your sautรฉ pan along with the onion, stir until onions are translucent, around 5 minutes, on medium heat. Add in your eggplant, garlic and cook another 7 minutes. Stir your leafy greens in, for the picture below I used kale because I also topped it with some kale chips I roasted in the oven. In reality, you can use any of the following though, swiss chad, collard greens or spinach. Once your greens begin to welt add the beans, tomatoes and spices. Cook together for another 7 minutes then spoon over polenta. Add in one of my homemade banquettes and dinner is served.
