Lemon-Marinated Chicken Breast with Eggplant Ratatouille

For my first recipe post, I have decided to share last night's dinner. Believe it or not, this was my first experience with eggplant. I had always been rather inquisitive of the large purple vegetable, and finally decided to give it a go. Result: delicious. Somewhat zucchini in nature and taste. Purply. Spongy. Mild yet creamy. To my surprise, seedy. Upon further research, I discovered that it has both a male and female variety. When choosing your eggplant, you want to look for heavy, firm fruit with unblemished skin. Ratatouille is a stewed vegetable dish, typically tomatoey in nature... it originated in Nice, France. We decided to pair this with the Little Penguin's Chardonnay Reisling + some nice greens. Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:

- Juice 1/2 lemon (or lemon juice)

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 4 3-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

FOR THE RATATOUILLE:

- 1tbs. olive oil

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 medium yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

- 1 large purple eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

- 2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch dice

- 1 medium to large bell pepper, cut into

- 4 tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch dice

- salt & pepper, to taste

- 1/2 cup white wine

- 1-2tsp. wine vinegar

- 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

Instructions:

1) In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oilve oil, salt, pepper and garlic. Place chicken breasts into a small baking dish or large zip-top bag. Add lemon mixture and coat the chicken thoroughly. Store chicken in fridge.

2) Preheat the grill on high for direct heat.

3) To make the ratatouille: In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and sauté until the onion starts to soften, about 1-2 minutes. Add eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a lid and let cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

4) Remove chicken from marinade, discard marinade. Place chicken on the grill and grill for about 3-5 minutes per side or until done. Remove from grill.

5) To finish the ratatouille, add the white wine and stir to combine. Let the wine cook off, gently scraping the pan to deglaze it. Taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt & pepper to taste. Add 1-2 tsp. wine vinegar. Add parsley ad give it a final stir. Spoon the ratatouille onto four plates. Add chicken breasts and serve.