Viva Italia Gumbo (ratatouille W/ Sausage And Chicken)

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• olive oil
• 2 onions, slivered
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
• 1 eggplant, cut into chunks
• 2 zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms (recommend- baby bellas & shittake)
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (chopped)
• 1/2-1 tablespoon sugar
• 28 ounces canned plum tomatoes (recommend fire roasted)
• 16 ounces chopped tomatoes (recommend fire roasted)
• 1 lb sweet italian turkey sausage
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• salt & pepper

Recipe

• 1 heat about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy based dutch oven.
• 2 add the onions and peppers and saute until the onions just start to go transparent. remove these from the pan and set aside.
• 3 add a little more olive oil to the pan and add the eggplant and zucchini. saute these together for 8-10 minutes. remove these from the pan and set aside.
• 4 deglaze the pan with the red wine and balsamic vinegar. add the garlic, bay, thyme and sugar and allow this to simmer until the wine is reduced by about half.
• 5 add the tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes start breaking down.
• 6 return all the veggies to the pan, add the mushrooms and simmer on low for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the flavor, as needed, with salt, pepper and/or sugar.
• 7 while the ratatouille/gumbo is simmering, take the turkey sausage and place in a frying pan with about 1/4 cup of water or other liquid (i use beer, of course) and cook over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until done (about 10-15 minutes) slice the sausages into rings about 1 cm. thick.
• 8 add the sausage rings and the chicken to the ratatouille/gumbo and simmer everything together until the chicken is warmed all the way through.
• 9 serve over polenta, mashed potatoes, rice, noodles or whatever your fancy is. although i'm gluten intolerant, i'm relatively sure that crusty bread would be heavenly with this.