Continuing with our infusing more “purple” vegetables in our lives, I decided to pick up a radicchio to use in the vegetable accompaniment for dinner. I already had a couple of organic Chinese eggplants, red onions and purple garlic from the farmers’ market, as well as shiitake mushrooms, in the fridge, so I decided to put them all together in a “stir-fry.” Chinese eggplants have a much thinner skin than normal eggplants, so they are great for stir-frying because they will cook through more easily. Radicchio adds a nice bitterness to all the “umami” from the mushrooms, onions and eggplant. I added some basil from our garden at the end, which gave the vegetables a nice aromatic lift and freshness. The result was a kind of light, tomato-less ratatouille, and we had it as an accompaniment to a simply grilled coho salmon — delicious!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Chinese eggplants, ends cut, cut in half and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
- 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
- 1 medium radicchio, halved, cored, then chopped into thin strips
- approx. 20 leaves of basil, chiffonade
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
In a pan, heat some olive oil and add the onions and garlic. Salt and cook until the onions soften.
Add the shiitake mushrooms and eggplants. Salt a little more and stir.
Cook until the eggplants are cooked.
Once the eggplants are cooked, add the raddichio.
Once the radicchio cooks, add the juice of lemon and stir well.
Finally, add the basil and mix. Add some pepper as desired.
Serve as a vegetable accompaniment. Enjoy!
eat. live. paleo. 
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