Crock Pot Ratatouille

I've made ratatouille before but was honestly annoyed with how long it took to make something as simple as a veggie stew. Since eggplant has been coming out of my ears (or eggs?) lately, a ratatouille was in order.

How to make it less annoying you ask? Throw it in the crock pot and be done with it. Serve it over cornmeal mush because that's living. Or serve it over proper polenta if you prefer to be fancy. I just think something as humble as ratatouille ought to be served over an equally humble mush. Plus I am weirdly craving mush and white rice all the time now.

Do you want to know why? I'm deep in my first read of "To Kill a Mockingbird" and all things Southern sound amazing, plus my eyes see everything right now as Scout would see them. Do you get like that when you read a good book? Or maybe that's crazy talk. Still doesn't explain the white rice obsession, but just go with it.

Ready to make some veggies into a fancy French word? Do it.

Crock Pot Ratatouille
Inspired by A Year of Slow Cooking
Serves 4-8 (depends on if you serve as a main or side)

1 TBL olive oil
1 zucchini, cubed
3-4 eggplant, cubed
2 cans diced tomatoes with juices
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, oregano and basil)
salt & pepper

Chop all the veggies. Layer the ingredients in your crock pot in this order: onion, zucchini, eggplant, garlic, tomato, herbs. Do several layers like this, I ended up with 3 layers. Salt and pepper after each ingredient so it gets seasoned all the way through. Don't worry if you have to pack the crock pot super full because it will cook down.

No, I didn't forget the bell peppers, I'm just not a huge fan. Add some if you like.

Cook on low for 6-7 hours. Serve over cornmeal mush, polenta, or with some crusty bread. Enjoy!