A French Inspired Dinner - Ratatouille and Cherry Clafoutis

Last week when I made eggplant lasagna I thought I was going to use a lot of eggplant, so I bought three.  I ended up only needing one.  That left me in the predicament of figuring out what to do with the extra eggplant.  Lying in bed the other night, it struck me - I'd make ratatouille.

Ratatouille is thick vegetable type stew that can be eaten hot or cold, as an appetizer with bread or as part of a meal with chicken or fish.  I have only made ratatouille once before and that was 12 years ago in France when my sister and I were staying for a few weeks at the home of our aunt's friends who had a daughter our age.  I vividly remember making the dish, cooking the vegetables in batches, stripping the thyme leaves from their woody stems and peeling off the skins of the fresh tomatoes, but I couldn't really remember at all what it actually tastes like. 

So with ratatouille in my mind I decided to make a whole French themed Sunday dinner out of it - with a roasted chicken and a clafouti for dessert!

Clafoutis is a french country dessert that is basically an thin pancake-type batter that is poured over fruit and baked in the oven until it is golden brown on the top.  Traditionally, it is made with cherries, but other stone fruits or even peaches/pears/apples would work well too. I went with the traditional cherry and it actually came out pretty amazing. I also used real butter in this dish - I am moving forward with introducing dairy into my diet and that is the first step.  It has been about 18 months since I last had butter and I forgot how amazing it tastes. 

First the Ratatouille -

Ratatouille
3 medium zucchini
2 small eggplant (I used the light purple Italian eggplants)
2 peppers (one red, one yellow)
2 large tomatoes
1 onion
14 oz jarred tomatoes (I use Eden Organics)
3 cloves garlic (or more if you like)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Bay leaf
Basil
Thyme

Chop eggplant and zucchini in cubes and set in a colander.  Sprinkle with salt and let stand as you chop the remaining vegetables.  Pat dry any moisture that has released from the zucchini and eggplant. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and saute just the zucchini and eggplant until tender, about 5 minutes, remove from the pan and set aside.  Add a little more oil to the pan and saute the onions and peppers for a few minutes.  Add the chopped tomatoes, jarred tomatoes and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes then add the zucchini and eggplant back into the pan along with the seasoning and herbs.  Let simmer on low heat for about an hour.



Cherry Clafoutis - I based my recipe on this one attached. 

4 large eggs
1 cup coconut milk (homemade - dried, unsweetened coconut flakes, water, salt blended in Vitamix)
3 dates
1/3 cup almond flour (not homemade, I am lazy)*
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 cup frozen cherries
1 tablespoon butter*


Preheat oven to 325°F.  Put the butter in your casserole dish and place in the oven to melt while you prepare the custard.  Put the coconut milk and three dates into a blender and blend until smooth. Add the eggs, almond flour, vanilla and spices to the blender and mix until incorporated. Remove the warmed casserole dish from the oven and swirl to coat the bottom with butter.  Pour in the custard and place the cherries throughout the custard.  Bake for 40-45 minutes until the center is set and the top is brown.  Clafoutis can be served warm or chilled - it is good either way.

*This recipe could probably be made with a few tablespoons of coconut flour instead of the almond and coconut oil or ghee for the butter.