Ratatouille with Quince

I love making a pot of ratatouille to go with a hearty bread. In this case I had a double chocolate stout dark rye loaf in the oven and wanted to use some more of my quince bounty from the Novaks.

The origins of ratatouille are hazy. French? Basque? Spanish? Wherever it's from, I love its versatility. And, truth be told, I make it differently every time, using whatever vegetables I have on hand. Slicing, cubing, slicing some more. It's knife-intensive, but totally worth it. Tonight, my ratatouille included...

onions
fennel
eggplant
quince
zucchini
crushed tomatoes
red wine
olive oil
butter
fresh thyme

Brown the onions and fennel in a pat of butter. Add the eggplant and quince with a splash of olive oil and cook for ten minutes, stirring frequently. Add the rest of the ingredients - except the thyme - and simmer till everything is softened, another 30 minutes or so. Remove from heat and add minced fresh thyme.

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