Ratatouille & Parmesan Polenta

This dish is a combination of Ratatouille's Ratatouille from Smitten Kitchen and Parmesan Polenta from Eighty Twenty (a great healthy recipe resource). I usually make couscous (flavored with Mediterranean spices) to go with this ratatouille but tried something even healthier (?). This ratatouille recipe is my favorite - not too many spices and no big lumps of eggplant.

Ratatouille's Ratatouille
from Smitten Kitchen

• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 small eggplant
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 yellow squash (I usually can't find this here so I don't mind leaving it out)
• 1 long red bell pepper
• Few sprigs of thyme
• Salt & pepper

Mix puree, garlic, onion and 1 Tablespoon oil in the bottom of a baking dish. Season generously with salt and pepper. Thinly slice vegetables and arrange slices atop the sauce in concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the dish, overlapping so that just a bit of each flat surface is visible, alternating veggies. Drizzle the remaining Tablespoon of oil over the veggies and season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle fresh thyme over the top. Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper (or tinfoil) cut to fit inside. Bake at 375F/190C for 45 to 55 minutes, until veggies have released their liquid and are clearly cooked but not totally limp. The sauce will bubble up around them. 

Parmesan Polenta

from Eighty Twenty

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup cornmeal 
• 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, shredded

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan, add garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add broth and bring to a boil. Gradually add cornmeal with continually whisking. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent lumps. Stir in parmesan in the last minute of cooking time. 

Serve ratatouille atop polenta and garnish with just a tad more parmesan cheese.