Ratatouille and Parmesan-Thyme Couscous! (Rana)

Yumyumyum! Let me tell you, this vegetarian dish should get rave reviews. It was tender and flavorful and with the couscous, I literally almost melted into it. It's a homey dish that I'll be sure to make again! Besides, who didn't love the movie Ratatouille. This dish was a bit of a homage, but since my family just can't have squash and eggplant alone, we added a bit of a twist. :]

Now I don't want to take credit for a recipe someone else created. The Ratatouille was not my recipe, but I did happen to modify it. I added another clove of garlic, and when she specifies a few sprigs of thyme, I used 4, and I also added just a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes. And lots of olive oil because it's my favorite condiment! Also, PLEASE get a smaller and or longer and skinner bell pepper. My brother messed up and got me a fat one. Obese bell pepper makes me sad.



Okay so for the Ratatouille recipe, go here: Smitten Kitchen

Now I take credit for the couscous! It's not those tiny little couscous you see most of the time, but a chunkier version. Because these do well in filling you up!

Parmesan-Thyme Couscous

Ingredients:
1 Cup Couscous
1 Cup Water or Chicken Stock(I used consomme to make it taste like chicken stock)
2 Sprigs thyme
1 tsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 or 2 pinches of parmesan cheese, shredded
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, dried parsley to taste

Step 1:
Bring water or stock to boil in a pot. Salt generously if water, if stock not too generously.

Step 2:
Pour couscous, drizzle just a tad of olive oil, swirl around, then cover and put it to low heat. Be patient, you want the couscous to absorb all the liquid.

Step 3:
Once liquid is absorbed, drop the butter in, then drizzle some more olive oil, sprinkle on the spices and run your fingers along the thyme sprig to separate the leaves from the twig. Stir around and let the flavors set in, give it a taste to see if you like it.

Step 4:
Sprinkle the cheese on, stir it around, give it another taste and adjust the flavors as you like.

Step 5:
Ready to serve! :D

It's amazingly delicioussss! You could even add sharp white cheddar for a nice zing! Now you may notice the bits of meat at the top, that pinkish ham looking stuff. That's some fried up prosciutto! One of my favorite things to splurge on! Just cut it up to your desired size, I actually used scissors(clean of course!), and then I tossed it into a pan with heated oil and warmed them up until I was certain they were free of the dangers of pork poisoning, or whatever they call it. xD

It's super yummy with the saltiness of the prosciutto, just sprinkle it on top, you can serve it however you like. My mom even came back for seconds on the ratatouille SAUCE. And the couscous flew out of the pot, so if you wanna make more because your sure it'll be a hit, just double the ingredients. No biggie. I should have listened to that advice, I didn't get enough couscous. ;D

Here's another shot just because I love it so much. <3



- Rana