Ratatouille with polenta

DIRECTIONS

• Make the ratatouille
• Peel eggplant and dice to ¾ inch dice. Put in a colander over medium bowl, sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon kosher salt, mix, and let stand for ½ hour (and up to 2 hours) to let the bitterness of eggplant drip out. Wash with running water and pat dry using paper towels. Set aside.
• Dice onion, pepper and zucchini.
• Put 2 tablespoons in a large heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add another 2 tablespoons oil and zucchini to pot and sauté for 8 minutes, add to the onion-pepper bowl.
• Add 2 more tablespoons oil to pot together with the washed eggplant and sauté for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Add onion-pepper-zucchini mix to pot and mix gently. Drain most of the tomato liquid from the can, then roughly chop tomatoes in the can and add to pot. Add salt and white pepper to taste, mix gently and bring to boil. Partially cover pot with lid, reduce heat to medium-low for a low simmer and cook for 30 minutes, only shaking the pot to prevent from ratatouille from burning at the bottom.
• rip basil leaves into pot, mix very gently, adjust salt to taste and cook partially covered for another 5-10 minutes. Set aside as you prepare the polenta.
• Make the polenta
• Bring water and salt to boil in a large heavy bottom pot over high heat. Once the water boils, reduce heat to medium and sprinkle polenta all over the water while mixing with a wooden spoon. Bring water back to boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for about 25 minutes or until polenta is fully cooked, tender and soft and the consistency resembles porridge.
• Add butter, cream and parmesan and mix. Add salt to taste and remove from heat.
• To serve
• Spoon generous mounds of polenta into each bowl, make a well in the center and spoon ratatouille into the well. Serve immediately.
• Ratatouille and polenta keep in the fridge for 4-5 days in sealed containers.