Cooking and Yoga – Ratatouille and Vinyasa Flow

For this second installment of cooking and yoga, I brought in my healthy cooking expert who also happens to be  my good friend from college, Courtney Ortiz. Courtney is a nutritionist by degree and a chef by trade, and is very knowledgeable and passionate about cooking delicious and nutritious meals that satisfy not only the palate but also the soul.

After brainstorming some ideas, we decided to go with something vegetarian, fresh, and light. Ratatouille seemed like the perfect early-summer solution. We served it over cous-cous with a dollop of goat cheese sprinkled with basil and lemon-thyme – see the recipe below. Since the day we chose to commence was probably the nicest day NYC has seen this summer, the energy level was high. We strolled to the Union Square Farmer’s Market to pick up the ingredients. After chopping the veggies and peeling the tomatoes, I led Courtney through a vinyasa flow sequence – a light summer practice for a light summer day – see the recipe and photos of our journey below!

Ratatouille

Adapted generously from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Cooking

6-8 Servings

1 medium eggplant, ½ inch cube

2 medium onions, ½ inch diced

2 bell peppers (choose different colors), ½ inch dice

1 medium summer squash, ½ inch dice

1 medium zucchini, ½ inch dice

3 ripe tomatoes (peeled), ½ inch dice

4-6 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 bunch fresh basil

Few sprigs fresh thyme

Pinch dried chili flakes

Salt & pepper

Toss the eggplant cubes with salt, set in colander and let drain for 20 minutes, and then pat dry.

In a heavy bottom soup pot add a few glugs of evoo. Add the eggplant and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until golden brown and set aside.  Add more evoo if necessary.

In the same pot, add more evoo, add onions and cook until they’re soft and translucent.

Add garlic, ½ bunch of basil and thyme tied in a bouquet, dried chili pepper and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Stir in peppers, cook for a few minutes.

Add squash and zucchini, cook for a few more minutes.

Add tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes longer before stirring in the eggplant.  Continue cooking about 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are soft. *

Remove the herb bouquet and season with salt.

Stir in remaining basil, chopped.

Drizzle evoo

Serve at room temperature over couscous with a dollop of goat cheese.

Bon appétit!

Not only is this recipe absolutely delicious and vegetarian, it is easy to cook and relatively in-expenseive as well. We had ours with a few great friends and some Ommegang Witte beer – both highly recommended!

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