Sausage Ratatouille

My children love to watch the movie Ratatouille. Last time we watched it I thought about how I had never actually eaten ratatouille. I was intrigued, to say the least. To my utter delight the October issue of Family Fun magazine had a recipe for ratatouille. I studied the recipe, made a few minor changes, and cooked me up some yummy ratatouille. It was definitely a good experiment!

SAUSAGE RATATOUILLE
4 links of light Italian sausage
6 T olive oil
1 eggplant, peeled and diced
2 zucchini, halved and sliced
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
3 T fresh basil, chopped
salt
pepper
1 bag of grated Italian cheese mix

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Puncture the sausages in many places then place in boiling water. Cook on a low boil until cooked through (around 14 minutes). Put sausage on a paper towel covered plate and let cool. Slice sausage to desired size. Over medium-high heat warm 4 T of the olive oil in a deep skillet. Add the eggplant and zucchini. Saute until lightly brown but not soft (around 7 minutes). Transfer the eggplant and zucchini to a bowl. In the same skillet over medium heat warm the remaining 2 T oil. Add the onions, half of the garlic and peppers. Saute for 3 minutes. Stir in the rest of the garlic and sausage. Saute for another 3 minutes. Add the can of diced tomatoes, then the eggplant and zucchini mix. Stir, turn the heat down to medium-low, then partially cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, parsley, half for the basil, then salt and pepper to taste, stir and simmer for another 5 minutes. Place a serving of ratatouille on a dish, sprinkle with some of the cheese, then top with a dash of the remaining fresh basil. Serve and enjoy.