Ratatouille with Fried Eggs

Hi all,

I have a confusion every morning  – What to do for Breakfast?  I still remember how my friends used to express their frustration about breakfasts and they end up with the usual idli or dosa.  I too have this confusion every morning. As breakfast is the important meal of the day, I don’t prefer to skip them and love to include nuts, eggs, and vegetables in my morning platter. Sometimes, I have a simple one – cereals in milk, Idli with tomato chutney etc. Rarely, they will be exotic like Idiyappam, fried eggs with roasted veggies (if I wake up early, conditions apply. He.. he..)

I wanted a healthy yet different combination for my morning and that’s how I found out this French recipe – Ratatouille with fried eggs.

Here you go!

Ratatouille is the traditional French stewed vegetable dish which is often served as a side for dinner but sometimes included in breakfast and lunch. It serves as a complete meal when served with toasted bread. The secret of the dish is to cook the vegetables separately so each will taste true. Ratatouille is the perfect breakfast option to include vegetables in your first meal. The ratatouille tastes even better the next day. Toast a sourdough bread, top with ratatouille and fried eggs for your breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Tomatoes seeded and cut into small pieces
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 1 Eggplant cut into small pieces
• 1 Zucchini, cut into small pieces
• 1 large red onions, thinly sliced
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 cup chopped basil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sourdough bread, toasted
• 1 ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
•  5 ½ tablespoon Olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper
• Half cup of water
• Salt

Method:

• In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add tomatoes, garlic cloves and a ¼ spoon of crushed red pepper. Season with salt.
• Cook tomatoes over medium heat until it becomes soft for about 5 minutes.
• Set aside and discard the garlic clove
• In the same skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add eggplant, a ¼ spoon of crushed garlic pepper and salt. Cook until the eggplant becomes soft.  Scrape the vegetable from the skillet and set aside
• In the same skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil. Add Zucchini, a ¼ spoon of crushed garlic pepper and salt. Cook over medium heat until the vegetable becomes soft. Set aside
• Repeat the same with red pepper and onions
• Once the vegetables are cooked separately, add the cooked vegetables to the tomatoes in a saucepan
• Add bay leaf, chopped basil and water to the vegetables and tomatoes in the saucepan. Add the remaining crushed pepper to the mixture and cook over medium heat with lid covered.
• Cook until the vegetables are thoroughly cooked and water is absorbed completely. Discard the bay leaf. Season the ratatouille with pepper and salt
• Meanwhile, in a nonstick pan toast the slices of sourdough bread until it is lightly browned
• In a small pan, heat the remaining half spoon oil and crackle the eggs. Fry until the whites are firm and the yolks are runny. This might take 2 or 3 minutes. Once the eggs are done, season with salt and pepper.
• On a serving plate, place the toasted bread. Top with ratatouille and place fried eggs on top of the vegetables. Sprinkle chopped basil and serve warmly.