Tropical Ratatoille

I just had the most AMAZING dinner. It tasted like a dish of pad thai mated with some ratatouille and doused the act in coconut milk. Seriously, I haven't tasted something this good since...I don't know when.

I made a few changes to the recipe I found in the Vegan World Fusion Cuisine cookbook, to adapt to allergies. Here are the specs. Enjoy!

Tropical Ratatouille                    

1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 C. chopped onion
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 large eggplant, cubed
1-2 small zucchini, cubed
1/2 red bell pepper, 1/2 " chopped
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 recipe Thai coconut sauce (see below)
1 Tbsp. cilantro

Heat oil in large pan on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add eggplant and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add Thai Coconut Sauce and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add zucchini and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When done, remove lime leaf and lemongrass stem. Add cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.

Thai Coconut Sauce

1 13oz can coconut milk
2 Tbsp. cashew butter
2 Tbsp. Shoyu (if you can't have gluten, use tamari, Shoyu has wheat in it)
1 Tbsp. agave
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice, abt. 1/2 of a lime
1 tsp. Mirin
1 small Lime leaf (I found mine at Whole Foods by the fresh herbs)
2" Lemongrass stem
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
Sea salt to taste
Black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in small pan and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.