Chicken Ratatouille Parmigiana

This evening I was in the mood for something different. I decided to make Chicken Ratatouille Parmigiana, which is basically my version of a cross between Chicken Parmesan and Ratatouille!  It was so simple to make. Here are the easy steps:

• I diced 1 medium eggplant and about 1/3 cup of Vidalia onion and sauteed it in olive oil until tender (about 10 minutes).  I also added a little water to the eggplant/onion mixture and covered it while it cooked for most of that time.  
• While it was cooking, I minced 5 large cloves of garlic, sliced 3 small zucchini and diced 2 yellow squash and added them to the pot once the eggplant was tender; then covered it and continued cooking until the squash and zucchini were tender.  
• I stirred in 2 heaping tablespoons of sun-dried tomato pesto and seasoned it with sea salt, black pepper and about 1/2 teaspoon of Herbes de Provence.  
• Lastly, I cut up some beautiful ripe Campari tomatoes and added them in different stages during the cooking.  I added some of them along with the squash so they would create some juice to keep the veggies moist while they got tender; I added several more tomatoes when the cooking was almost done and then stirred in the remaining tomatoes and turned the heat off and kept it covered so they would just warm through and stay fresh looking.  
• I set the ratatouille aside while I did a quick and simple saute of boneless chicken breasts (that I beat with my meat mallet to about 1/2 inch thick).  I simply seasoned them on both sides with sea salt and black pepper and then sauteed in olive oil until lightly golden on both sides and cooked through (about 8 to 10 minutes).  
• As soon as the chicken was done, I removed it from the heat and placed sliced mozzarella cheese on top and covered the pan for a few minutes until the cheese melted.  I served the chicken topped with ratatouille and shredded Parmigiano Reggiano.  

It was absolutely delicious and an awesome way to use up the bounty of summer vegetables this time of year.  I snapped a few photos for you to see below.  Enjoy!

Voila!

BOOM!