My friend, Peggy, is part of a CSA (community-shared-agriculture) at her workplace. Since she went on vacation this week, she arranged for me to pick up her share of vegetables and fruit. I’ve never gotten so many different types of vegetables at once before! There must’ve been at least four pounds each of squash, eggplant, and tomatoes. As I was thinking of what to make that would require using most of the vegetables, one dish came to mind – ratatouille! (You know you want to say it in a French accent. Go ahead, no one’s listening. ;))

There are many debates over the proper way to make a traditional ratatouille, ranging from layering and baking the vegetables in a casserole dish to simply sauteing the vegetables. My version is definitely not a “traditional” ratatouille, but rather a quick and easy way to achieve most of the flavors in a traditional ratatouille. It’s also a great way to use up the vegetables in your refrigerator, such as squash, eggplant, zucchini, onions, carrots, peppers, etc. Obviously, traditional ratatouille doesn’t include meat, but I added chicken for the extra protein to keep me full longer. I chose to use chicken thighs because I like the taste better and it’s extremely inexpensive; however, you could also use chicken breasts instead.

You could serve this dish by itself (which I do on my low-carb nights), or with rice, quinoa, couscous or slices of fresh baguette to soak up all the nice juices! I hope you give my chicken ratatouille a try sometime. It’s such a nice homey meal to make for yourself and those you love most :).

Recipe
Yield: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 Japanese eggplant (or 1 small Italian eggplant), sliced into 1/2-inch thick little rectangles
1 zucchini or yellow squash, sliced into 1/2-inch thick little rectangles
1 red pepper, seeded and sliced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
3 large tomatoes, diced (or 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes)
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tbsp. fresh oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp. capers
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Once oil is hot, cook chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Using the same pan over medium heat, add the eggplant, zucchini or squash, and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, herbs, red pepper flakes, and wine. Using a large wooden spoon, gently combine all the ingredients while scraping all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan.
3. Return the chicken to the pan and add the chicken broth. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Taste and season with more salt if needed. Add the capers and parsley and serve immediately.