Red Wine Braised Herb and Eggplant Ratatouille: Cheap and Elegant Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner Recipe

Why settle for boring for a vegan Thanksgiving meal when you can make a wonderful red wine-braised eggplant ratatouille for dinner. This is perfect to make for family and friends. Serve with a couple of salads, crusty bread and red wine, and celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving with the ones you love. This recipe contains olives, capers, peppers, fresh herbs and more. Tight on a budget? Read below for great cost-cutting ideas and ways to change the flavors, with out making the meal seem 'cheap'. This no-meat vegan-friendly recipe is great for both special occasions and for evening dinners at home with the family as well.

Red Wine Braised Herb and Eggplant Ratatouille

1 red onion, chopped

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped

2 medium green zucchini, diced

1 medium yellow bar zucchini, diced

1 whole globe-style eggplant, diced with skins left on

3 large Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

6 Tbsp olive oil

3/4 cup red wine

1 tsp fresh oregano leaves

1/2 tsp fresh chopped thyme

1 bay leaf

Salt and Black Pepper, to taste

1/4 cup black olives, sliced

2 Tbsp capers, drained

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tbsp fresh basil chopped

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and add red and yellow onion with peppers. Cook until softened and lightly browned. Add in the garlic cloves and cook an additional 2 minutes more. Remove from pan to a large bowl and reserve.

Next add in 2 Tbsp of olive oil in the pan and add in the squashes. Cook stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Remove to the same dish as the onions and reserve.

In the same pan, add in 2 Tbsp of olive oil and cook the eggplant for about 5 minutes, until heated through and the sides start to change colors. Add the cooked onions and cooked squashes. Stir until everything is combined. Add in the tomatoes, red wine, oregano leaves, thyme, bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Remove cover and stir again, and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes more. The length of cooking time will depend on the size of the pan. If the pan has a large surface area, the lower the cooking times as it is quicker for the liquids to evaporate.

When the vegetables are tender and the juices from the vegetables have been reduced, remove from heat. Take out the bay leaf. Add in the black olives, capers, fresh parsley and chopped basil. Stir to blend all the ingredients together and serve hot or warm.

Cost Saving Tips:

- Use dried herbs in your pantry instead of fresh herbs, or a combination (like using inexpensive fresh parsley and dried herbs) or whatever is growing in your herb planter box.

- Use canned tomatoes in place of fresh ones.

- Eliminate the red onion and use two yellow onions.

- Use only green zucchini.

- Instead of red wine, use left over vegetable broth or even water.

- Use frozen sliced peppers. Red, green and yellow are often packaged together and can be found on sale, or just use all green.