Today's recipe for Saucy Ratatouille is perfect for this busy time of year. It's easy to make in less than 45 minutes.

In this recipe, standard ratatouille ingredients of eggplant, tomatoes, onions, and oil are combined with hearty chunks of kielbasa sausage and served over noodles. It's delicious, but each serving contains 39 grams of fat!

For this rehab, we:

• Reduced the amount of olive oil from 6 tablespoons to 2.

• Used a low fat turkey kielbasa and reduced the amount from 16 ounces to 14.

• Replaced the egg noodles with yolk-free noodles and reduced the amount from 12 ounces to 10. (Yolk-free noodles are lighter in weight than egg noodles and, as a result, have a larger cooked volume).

Our husbands loved this recipe and couldn't believe the kielbasa was low in fat. Reduced to only 12 grams of fat per serving, this is one ratatouille the whole family will enjoy.

Tip of the Week: Also try serving this ratatouille over couscous.

Saucy Ratatouille

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 eggplants, 1-pound each, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 medium onions, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

14 ounces turkey Polska Kielbasa, such as Hillshire Farms, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes in tomato puree

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 large bay leaf

2 teaspoons lemon peel

10 ounces yolk-free noodles, such as No-Yolk, cooked according to directions

In large skillet, over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add eggplant, onion, and garlic; saute until brown, about 12 minutes. Add sausage, tomatoes, wine, bay leaf, and lemon peel. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until eggplant is tender, about 25 minutes.

Uncover and simmer until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove bay leaf and ladle sauce over hot noodles. Makes 6 servings.

Before and after

Based on 1 serving ( 1/6 of recipe)

Saucy Ratatouille		Adapted
Calories	695	412
Fat	39 g	12 g
Carbohydrate	64 g	56 g
Sodium	686 mg	637mg
Fiber	8 g	6 g
Cholesterol	88 mg	43 mg
Calories from fat
	50%	25%

Nutritionists recommend those on daily 2,000 calorie diet limit their fat consumption to 65 g or less, cholesterol to 300 mg or less and sodium to 2,400 mg or less per day.

Karen Weber, Pat Streicher and Ellen Illig are registered dieticians at Jewish Hospital's Cholesterol Center. To have your recipes rehabbed, send them to: Recipe Rehab, The Jewish Hospital Cholesterol Center, 3200 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati 45229.