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Ratatouille…no not the movie

Ratatouille...not the movie

No I haven’t seen it…when it comes to animated movies I only watch The Simpson’s at the movie theater and the rest must be viewed on DVD (the small children to adult ratio is too much for me). Yes, I know it’s fabulous and Ruhlman says that it really gets the chef ethos…whatever…it’s still a talking rat. I promise I’ll watch it on DVD.

But I’m talking about ratatouille, the dish, the food, the velvety melange of warmth. There is nothing like summer soul food to warm your…well, soul. Ratatouille is soul food…don’t be mislead into thinking otherwise. During the summer in the south of France tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini are abundant and cheap…toss in some onion, garlic and some herbs and you’ve got ratatouille.

This is such an easy dish to make and I think my favorite part is the prep. Begin by pouring yourself a glass of wine. I favor a well chilled French rose…please, please do not buy a California rose and think it will be the same…it’ll be undrinkable sweet swill. Next line up the ingredients: eggplant, zucchini, onion, garlic, and tomato and get out your favorite knife and start chopping. Contrary to what many cookbooks will tell you, your fresh eggplant needs absolutely no prep other than peeling, chopping, and tossing with olive oil. Zucchini gets chopped into the same size. Onion gets chopped into slices on the vertical, and garlic gets chopped into slices too. The tomato gets a dice about the same size as the eggplant and zucchini. For seasonings I use a liberal amount of red pepper flakes and thyme (I detest herbs de provence). You’ll notice there are no peppers in my ratatouille…I think it distracts from the silky pleasures of the other components.

Ratatouille...not the movie

Heat a large chef pan or another type of wide pan over a medium flame. Add olive oil, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, and salt and cook over medium heat until it is translucent and some brown is starting. Then add the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, olive oil, and salt. Cover the pan and allow this to heat up and start releasing their juices. Once that happens you can remove the lid and stir. Continue cooking until the zucchini and eggplant are velvety tender.

Serve this with pasta, couscous, or crusty bread. I like some goat cheese or feta on top…this time I went with feta.

Here is the more precise, printable version of this recipe. Bon appetit!

August 7, 2007 | Filed Under Local, Wisconsin, food, food porn, gratins, stews, and stir-frys, low carb, low cal, quick and easy, recipe, vegetable 

comments

7 Responses to “Ratatouille…no not the movie”

  1. Matt on August 7th, 2007

    This is my first comment here and let me first say that I think you do an absolutely fantastic job with your blog - great photos, wonderful writing.

    One more thing - don’t write off all the American rose wines - some of the Californian winerys are starting to produce some much drier rose wine than you traditionally see. St Supery for example make a drier rose that is quite decent.

    Keep up the blogging!

  2. marye on August 8th, 2007

    That looks so good. Nice close up. ;)

  3. Trig on August 9th, 2007

    It’s been years since I made myself ratatouille, but I can’t work out why. My dad used to make it in batches and freeze it in portions. One thing he taught me that I’ll never forget (probably because it’s relevant to so many things) is that ratatouille should be eaten the day after it’s made, never on the day. This gives the flavours more time to amalgamate, producing a far superior result.

  4. Ros on August 10th, 2007

    I like the addition of the feta there. For me that would turn rataouille into a ‘good but nothing exciting’ type food into something I would relish.

    Am I strange for liking Californian rosé? My Dad is a massive fan, but he likes anything with a high sugar content. Admittedly, I don’t think I’d have it with food but with some nibbles out in the sun, I think it can be quite refreshing.

    ok, I’ll get my coat :blush:

  5. Lil on August 10th, 2007

    do, do watch the movie, talking rat or not, it’s a brilliant one!

  6. MadLisa on August 10th, 2007

    I love the dish and the movie–yes Vanessa, I’ll join the “go see the movie” chorus–the animation is amazing. I made polenta squares topped with the veggie variety for a potluck recently. Truly a quick and tasty way to use up the HUGE amounts of summer vegetables that keep piling up! We eat it plain, on pasta, on polenta..etc.
    BTW, your photos are great!

  7. Kristen on October 5th, 2008

    I have enjoyed a curried ratatouille tart at a bakery near Seattle and tried to recreate it today…it’s all I can do not to eat the whole lot of it before the tart shell is even baked! Delicious!

    What is the best way to freeze or store this if I were to make a huge batch?

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