In The Kitchen

DINE+WINE | in the kitchen VibrantVEGGIES

This dish is a Middle Eastern and French marriage straight from heaven to your mouth. Ratatouille originated in Nice, France and is a stewed vegetable dish including tomato, zucchini, pepper, and garlic. It is versatile and can be served on its own or over chicken or pasta. Because it is chock full of gluten-free goodness it makes me think about this quote from the movie “Ratatouille”—“If you are what you eat, then only eat the good stuff!”

Falafel Pancakes with Summer Ratatouille

Pancakes

1 tablespoon butter or avocado oil 2 cups chickpea flour (I like Bob’s Redmill) 2 cups filtered water 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano and thyme a good grinding of sea salt and black pepper

Ratatouille

1 tablespoon butter or avocado oil 1 small red or yellow onion diced 1 zucchini, diced 1 red pepper, diced 3 tablespoon tomato paste (I like Bionaturae in glass jars) 3 medium tomatoes, diced or 8 oz tomato passata 3 large garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes (optional)

Micro greens or basil leaves for garnish, along with grated parmesan and olive oil

For the ratatouille, sauté onion in butter or avocado oil on low heat in a covered saucepan for about five to seven minutes until softened. Add in pepper, tomatoes, zucchini, garlic, and herbs and cook covered on medium heat for another 10 minutes until all veggies are softened. Add in tomato paste and cover and simmer for another 20-30 minutes. This is best made ahead and reheated to serve either warm or room temperature.

For the pancakes, mix all the pancake ingredients together to make the batter. Grease a large non-stick pan with a little butter or oil on medium high heat. Pour just enough batter to thinly cover the bottom of the pan and cook on one side a couple minutes until lightly browned. Flip the pancake over gently and cook a couple minutes on the other side until lightly browned and stack pancakes between layers of parchment paper until serving. Repeat until all the batter is used up!

To serve, place a pancake on a plate and top with ratatouille and garnish with greens! Serve warm or room temperature. Makes 6 pancakes.

Photography by Glenn Roberson Jill Dahan lives in Cornelius and is the author of Starting Fresh! Recipes for Life. You can learn more about her at www.jilldahan.com. To learn more about her nonprofit, Sunninghill Jill Kids, visit www.sunninghilljillkids.org.