Friday, May 1, 2009

Ratatouille with Feta, Green Olives, and Almonds for Tyler Florence Fridays, plus a 300th Post Giveaway Announcement!


I bought a bag of Japanese eggplant at the farmer's market and needed a good way to use them up. I found Tyler's recipe for Ratatouille with Feta, Green Olives and Almonds at the Food Network site (here), and loved the idea of taking the ratatouille and topping it with feta, olives, basil and chopped toasted almonds. Since Tyler is always so good at combining different flavors, I knew it would be good. Although ratatouille is often served as a side dish, this is a great healthy and hearty vegetarian meal, especially with some good multi-grain bread to soak up all the flavorful juices.


Ratatouille with Feta, Green Olives, and Almonds
Tyler Florence

(Makes 6-8 Servings)
Prep Time 20 min. / Cook Time 40 min.

1 cup whole almonds
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon red chili flakes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup pitted green olives
1 bunch fresh basil, leaves hand-torn
1 medium onion, chopped
5 medium Japanese eggplant, chopped
3 medium zucchini, chopped
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 tablespoon capers, drained
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and hand crushed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Put the almonds into a large skillet over medium heat. Gently toast the nuts, being careful not to let them burn, for about 3 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes, 1 chopped garlic clove, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 3 minutes and transfer to a plate to cool. Crush the almonds roughly and put them into a bowl along with the feta cheese, olives, and 1/3 of the basil leaves. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.


Put 3 tablespoons olive oil and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes into the skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, remaining garlic, and 1/3 of the basil leaves and cook until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Put in the eggplant and cook until it is soft, about 10 minutes, adding more olive oil if necessary. Add the zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and capers; season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until these vegetables are soft but still whole. Add the canned tomatoes, vinegar, and remaining basil leaves. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes; remove from the heat and set aside to cool.


To serve, put the ratatouille into a bowl or platter and top with the feta, olive, and almond mixture.


Notes/Results: Delicious with a nice spicy kick. The ratatouille itself is good and when you top it with the feta-almond mixture, it takes it to another level. The recipe goes together easily, it just takes some time to simmer. I didn't drain my canned tomatoes (since it was a can of San Marzano tomatoes and I didn't want to waste any of it), so I ended up with a bit more liquid than was probably intended. I liked it that way though, all the better to dunk my bread in it. This ratatouille is chunky, very filling, and a great meal. It is a keeper recipe for me.



300th Post Giveaway!


This is my 300th post and since I just had my one year Blogoversary a couple of weeks ago, it seems like a good time to celebrate and give away some free "foodie stuff". So for the next three Saturdays, I am going to be giving away something fun and foodie-like in three random drawings. 

Come back tomorrow to see the first prize and get the details of how to enter the drawing. It's just a little way to say mahalo (or thank you) for all the friendship, fun and support that I get from all of you. 

15 comments:

  1. This ratatouille sounds delish! And 300- Wow! You are amazing :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love ratatouille and haven't made it in years. You've totally inspired me to make some this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum! All my favourite flavours. He really is good at the tasty combos.
    If I have to drain tomatoes for a recipe I just save the juices for rice.
    Happy 300!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Liquid for bread-dunking is a MUST. All of the mediterranean flavors in this, mixed with the Japanese eggplant - gotta love it! Plus it has capers, how can you go wrong! Happy 300th!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congratulations on your blogaversary.
    The ratatouille sounds delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on your 300th post!

    This ratatouille looks amazing, how have I missed this recipe when I'm browsing the FN site? It is going into the must make file immediately! I love the feta and almond topping, and that bread looks especially delicious, I wish I had the ingredients to make this for lunch!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Congrats on 300 posts! That's amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Deb...300 posts?! My God you've been busy! Congratulations. The Ratatouille looks divine. Don't you just wish you and I could have Tyler all to ourselves just for a weekend? Think of the possibilities! :p

    ReplyDelete
  9. 300 posts in 1 year?! WOW!
    This ratatouille looks reallynice and hearty. yum!

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a fantastic bowl full of great flavors - and delicious bread too! My hat's off to you with 300 posts in a year's time. I thought I was posting a lot with my 200!
    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  11. Congrats on your 300th post!! And also on your ratatouille! It looks really good. I have a vegan friend & co-worker, and this would be a great pot-luck dish! Your bread looks heavenly! Like you said...perfect for the juices!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Congrats on 300 posts!

    I wish I liked eggplant and olives. Then I could dive into your dish and love every bite of it. It sure looks good. Except the visible olives and eggplant parts. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've wanted to make this recipe for some time now. Not draining the tomatoes and serving it with fresh bread is a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've never made ratatouille-I hope to fix that soon! This is a big dish of comforting deliciousness!!

    Congrats on your 300th post!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. way to go with your 300th post! this dish looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete

Mahalo for visiting and for leaving a comment. I love reading them and they mean a lot!

All advertising, spam, inappropriate (or just plain rude) comments will be promptly deleted. I do appreciate your right to free speech and to your opinion but I'm not into mean, rude, or mean snarky (non-mean snarky is just fine!) ;-)