Recipe - Ratatouille With Sausage

2 lg Eggplants; peeled and cut
into strips
8 md Zucchini; cut into 1/2"
slices
Flour
Olive oil; a good fruity
extra virgin is recommeded
5 lg Onions cut or sliced up
6 cl Garlic; minced
6 lg Green peppers; minced
8 lg Tomatoes peeled; seeded and
cut into strips
1 cup Finely chopped parsely
2 teaspoon Oregano
2 teaspoon Thyme
2 teaspoon Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 Dozen sweet or mild Italian
sausages
Chopped parsely for garnish

Dredge eggplant and zucchini in flour. Heat oil in heavy large pan and
briefly saute eggplant and zucchini in batches over medium heat for about
five minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Saute onion, garlic and
green pepper in same oil if needed. Save pan to saute' sausages.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Layer saute'ed vegetables, tomatoes, parsely and
seasonings in 6 quarts casserole. Stir gently to mix. Bake, covered 35
minutes.

Meanwhile saute' sausages in the reserved pan until browned. Remove from
pan, drain on paper towels and cool. Slice One fourth inch thick and return to
pan. Saute' slices 2 to 3 minutes more on each side. Add more oil to pan if
needed.

After the vegetables have baked 35 minutes add sausages. pushing most of
the slices down into the vegetable mixture, but reserving some for the
casserole top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Garnish with fresh parsely to serve.

Note: This lusty casserole perfumed with the herbs of Provence becomes a
complete main dish when sausages are added. Lots of crusty French and
italian bread, a leafy grean salad and a jug of red wine, followed by fruit
and cheese complere a menu that could be expanded to serve a multitude.
This is WONDERFUL on cold snowy days and feeds a crowd...coming from
Buffalo Bills country (originally) I can tell you that it makes a great
Super Bowl supper. *Flavor greatly improves by making casserole 24 hours
ahead and refrigerating. Bring to room temperature before reheating.
Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #776 by Dianne Weinsaft dee@ncsi.net on Sep
8, 1997