Recipe: Ratatouille a la Garlique

Some years back I had the opportunity to enter the Gilroy (California) Garlic Festival’s Cooking Contest with an old family favorite Ratatouille a la Garlic. At the time I didn’t quite remember the recipe and had to make my husband suffer as I spent months perfecting the recipe for the contest. The work paid off in the end and I had the chance to present my dish to the judges at the Festival and my dish will forever be immortalized in the pages of the Garlic Festival Cookbook.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 head of garlic, crushed and minced (remember this was the Garlic Festival)
1 large onion, chopped
2 large eggplants, cubed
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped in large chunks
½ cup mushrooms
2 stalks of celery
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
2 springs fresh rosemary
5 to 6 leaves of fresh basil
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon c
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne
1-2 dashes of hot pepper sauce

Directions:
Add olive oil to large Dutch oven heat until hot. Add garlic and onion and sauté for 5 minutes until onion starts to tan. Add eggplant, bell peppers and cook for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add zucchini, mushrooms and celery and sauté for 3 more minutes stirring frequently. Add tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until eggplant is tender.