Ingredients
Yields: 4 servingsRatatouille:
- 1 tablespoon dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon mustard seed
- 4 ½ tablespoons and 4 teaspoons virgin olive oil
- 8 oz Shitaake
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- 2 small green zucchini unpeeled and finely diced
- 2 small yellow zucchini unpeeled and finely diced
- 1 small red Bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 whole onion, minced
- 2 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 whole Tomato, blanched, peeled, seeded, and diced
- ½ teaspoon Fresh Thyme, finely minced
- 6-8 fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
- 8 sheets Phyllo dough, covered with a damp towel to prevent drying
- 4 ½-inch-thick slices mild Goat cheese, about 3-inches in diameter
Greens and Dressing:
- 4 cups loosely packed mixed baby greens (about 4 oz)
- 3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions
Combine the wine, water and vinegar in a small bowl. Add the mustard seed and soak overnight. Drain and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a non-stick sauté pan and sauté the eggplant over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until soft. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a mixing bowl. Repeat for the zucchini and bell pepper, adding 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan each time. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and sauté the onion over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until transparent. Add the garlic and tomato and season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer for 3 minutes to evaporate the liquid.
To assemble the ratatouille, add the sautéed eggplant, zucchini, and bell pepper to the pan and toss gently over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme, basil, and mustard seed. Adjust the seasonings if necessary, remove from the heat and let cool.Lay 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface and brush lightly with about ½ teaspoon of the remaining olive oil. Cover with a second sheet of phyllo and brush with another ½ teaspoon of the oil. With a sharp knife, cut the phyllo into 15 equal strips, 1-inch wide by 10-inches long. Lightly brush the inside of a round (non-fluted) cookies cutter that measures about 3 ¼ inches across and 1 ¼ inches deep with olive oil (you will need about ½ teaspoon of oil to brush the cutter four times). Using the pastry cutter as a mold, lay a trip of phyllo over the middle of the cutter and gently push it down so that itlines the mold; the ends will extend outwards from the top edge of the cutter. Lay a second strip in the same way, overlapping the first. Repeat with 8 to 10 strips, so the cutter is completely lined. Spoon a layer of ratatouille into the mold, so that it comes about one-third of the way up the sides. Press it down, and top with a piece of goat cheese. Completely fill the mold with more ratatouille. Enclose the ratatouille by flipping over the ends of the phyllo strips, one by one. Gently twist the pastry cutter while lifting to remove it. Repeat to make 3 more ratatouille packages.
Preheat the oven to 450F.
Spray a little olive oil into an oven proof skillet or sauté pan, and over medium heat, brown the packages on the bottom side, for about 1 minute. Flip the packages over onto the top side and place the skillet or pan in the oven. Bake 6-8 minutes, or until the phyllo is golden brown.
Arrange the lettuce on serving plates. Whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice and dress the greens. Serve 1 phyllo package on top of the greens on each plate.