Ratatouille Omelet {Food 'n Flix}

"Ratatouille?  It's a peasant dish!"

While the idea of a rat in the kitchen absolutely does make me cringe, I can put aside those feelings (mostly) when watching an animated film.  No really, over and over in my brain I'm asking why they chose a cooking rat.  Duh.  Because that was the perfect play on words for the story.  Yeah, but they're so nasty. Etcetera...etcetera.  That said, Ratatouille is such a fun foodie film.  While there is plenty of food in it to love, I have two favorite scenes.  The first is when Remy (yes, the rat) whips up Linguine (the person, not the noodle) an omelet for breakfast.  There's not many things I love better than an omelet for breakfast.  Omelets are like tacos.  In that you can stuff almost anything inside of them and they will be awesomely delicious.

My second favorite scene is, of course, when Linguine sets the beautiful plate of ratatouille in front of Ego (the food critic...love the name, so fitting...no?).  A stuffy, elite, seemingly lonely food critic, at that.  But with just one bite of this peasant dish, he is back in his mother's warm kitchen.  The tension (and pretension) peels away and joy fills his soul and takes residence in his face and demeanor.  Because really, food is not about the fanciest or most "gourmet" meal, it about the love, the heart, the soul that goes into making it.  This is what truly makes a delicious meal.

In honor of my two favorite scenes from this month's Food 'n Flix pick, I chose to make an omelet stuffed with ratatouille.  While I made a quick version of ratatouille (which doesn't take long at all, by the way), it is also a great way to use up any leftover ratatouille you may have.  While I sauteed mine, it is also great with roasted or grilled vegetables.

Ratatouille Omelet

from the kitchen of girlichef

makes 1 fat omelet

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tiny onion, chopped

1 small, ripe tomato, chopped

1 small zucchini, chopped

1 small eggplant

few olives, chopped

fresh basil

fresh thyme

salt & freshly ground black pepper

feta cheese, crumbled

2 eggs, beaten

pat of butter

Begin by slicing the eggplant into ~½" thick rounds.  Set the rounds on paper towels and salt them on both sides.  Let sit for 15-30 minutes.  Wipe off the salt and water, then dice and set aside.

Heat a skillet with about a tablespoon or so olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and onions and saute until softened, a couple of minutes.  Add tomato, zucchini, eggplant, and olives and saute for a minute.  Add a big pinch of freshly sliced basil and a big pinch of fresh thyme leaves.  Continue cooking for another minute or two, until everything is just al dente and fragrant.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.  Throw a bit of feta on top of the mixture, but don't toss it until just before you fill your omelet.  This will allow the feta warm up a bit without getting to melty.

Heat an 8" omelet pan (or nonstick skillet) until it is screaming hot.  Quickly throw in a big pat of butter and as soon as it melt, pour in the beaten eggs, swirling the pan and lifting the edges as they cook to let the uncooked egg flow beneath the cooked parts.  This will all happen very quickly.  When there is just a bit of uncooked egg on top, quickly flip the omelet over and turn off the heat.  Pour the ratatouille with feta on top of half of the omelet, and fold the other half over that.  

Slide omelet onto a warm plate.  Enjoy!

Our Food 'n Flix host this month is Beth Anne from The Seventh Level of Boredom.  Tomorrow Monday, October 31 at noon is the last day to send your entries over to her for the Ratatouille roundup!

I am also sharing this post with:
Katherine Martinelle Eggplant Bloghop