Gary De Mattei whipped this dish up, inspired by Ratatouille and we’re calling it Eggplant DeMattouille.
Ingredients
1 8-ounce package marinated tempeh (cut in 2” cubes)
1 large eggplant (chopped to 1” cubes)
2 Yukon Gold potatoes (chopped to 1” cubes)
1 large sweet potato (chopped to 1” cubes)
1 large red onion (rough chopped)
3 carrots (rough chopped)
3 stalks of celery (rough chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 Tablespoon Herbes de Provence (or mix of herbs like thyme, oregano, basil)
1 Tablespoon parsley flakes (dried)
1 Tablespoon red pepper flakes (more if you like it hot, less if you like it mild)
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 24-ounce jar of tomatoes (We use Bionaturae Organic Strained Tomatoes)
1 7-ounce jar tomato paste (We use Bionaturae Organic Tomato Paste)
3 cups water
Directions:
Prepare the eggplant. Dice the eggplant in large one in chunks, place it in a large bowl and sprinkle it with the salt while tossing the eggplant so each piece is salted. Put the eggplant in a clean kitchen towel and wrap it and let it set to one side for about 20 to 30 minutes. This sweats the eggplant removing the bitterness. Afterwards, unwrap the eggplant and put it in a strainer and rinse it under cold water to remove all of the salt. You can skip this step if you don’t mind the bitter taste of the eggplant.
While the eggplant is sweating, clean and chop the rest of the vegetables.
In a large frying pan bring one cup of water to a boil, water saute the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and spices until soft (about 10 minutes), add the potatoes and continue sautéing for about 5 minutes, then add the eggplant and the tempeh, the tomato sauce and paste and the remaining 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the liquid as been reduced to a thick sauce adding more water if it gets too thick. Serve with a dusting of nutritional yeast.