Meal of the Week 2: Ramsay's Ratatouille

Ratatouille?

I’ve been told that without Eggplant its not really Ratatouille. Well, this week’s meal of the week features A Gordon Ramsay version of Ratatouille that lacked eggplant. Why? Well, something happened with the weather and the eggplants didn’t make it to the stores this week. Literally there was exactly ONE eggplant in the whole store and they wanted to charge me 6 bucks for it.
Really? $6 for an eggplant? Mmmm, I think I can do without. So here goes:
Baked Eggs with Ratatouille
Step 1: Make sure the Baby is entertained by the puppy:

 

Step 2: Make Dinner!
For this recipe you will need:
1 Sweet Green Pepper
1 Sweet Red Pepper
1 Red Onion
1 small eggplant
1 zuccini
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes (10oz)
4 eggs
1 tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp ground sweet paprika
4-5 Tbsp of Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Ground Pepper
4 oven safe dishes
(This is my approximation of what the actual recipe book says:)
Chop the veggies and place in separate bowls.

Add the olive oil and the onion to a pan and sauté for a couple of minutes. Add the peppers and garlic. Sauté for one to two minutes. Add the zucchini and eggplant continue to allow the vegetables to simmer in the pan for another 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, paprika, and cumin. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.Divide the Ratatouille between the four dishes and place on a cookie pan. Make an indention with a spoon and crack an egg into each of the four dishes. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over each egg. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until the whites of the egg are hard. The yolks will still be a little runny.

My substitutions:
So we didn’t use an eggplant, because we didn’t have one and we didn’t have cumin either… so I used a little taragon and a little ground coriander as a substitute. I’m sure it would taste a little different with the eggplant and cumin and maybe next time I’ll use them. On the other hand, it was pretty good for dinner and we saved the extra two servings for lunch and it was still good reheated for lunch too.

 Next week we'll try a strawberry salsa on salmon fillets MMmmmmm.
Enjoy!

Meal of the Week 1: Ramsay's Skewers with Mint Marinade

This week’s adventure in cooking comes from the Gordon Ramsay Healthy Appetite book. While I always make some substitutions, I always include the original recipe with my substitutions in parentheses.
Lamb (Steak) Kabobs!

For this recipe you’ll need:
Skewers:
1 lb Lamb leg steaks
8 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Red Pepper
8 Crimini Mushrooms
4 bamboo skewers

Herb Paste:
Finely grated rind and juice of one lemon.
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried mint
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried ground rosemary
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1 Tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt, Black Pepper
Cut the steaks into 1 inch cubes, stir together the herb paste ingredients and pour over the lamb. Coat evenly and then let marinate for several hours or overnight. Soak your bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 20 minutes.
Prepare the veggies as you like them. Then thread the meat, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes on to the bamboo skewers alternately.
Drip your barbecue with a little olive oil and fire it up! Shake some salt and pepper over the skewers and let them grill for about 2-4 minutes. Let them rest for a minute or two and then serve with a side salad. Serves 4.
And now for my substitutions:
Rump Roast was BOGO at Safeway last weak, so we did this recipe with 1/2 a roast. The Roast was quite lean, so I feel like it made for a good substitutions since Ramsay uses lamb as a low fat alternative to beef.

We used Baby Bella Mushrooms instead of crimini because that’s what my husband decided to pick up at the store when I realized last minute that we needed mushrooms and didn’t have any. If it had been any other meal I probably would have just skipped the mushrooms.
And I didn’t have tarragon, so I used a little marjoram. Now, I know they’re completely different, but marjoram goes well on beef so I didn’t think it would hurt. And the meal turned out FANTASTIC so there’s your proof that it didn’t hurt at all.
A side salad is perfect, and we added a glass of our favorite Pinot Noir. Mmmm!
Next week: My first Ratatouille, also courtesy of Ramsay’s fabulous cookbook.
Happy Eats!