At the mill we used vegetables from our garden, as you might remember, but as I don't have that luxury here, I got all mine from the fantastic Carrboro Farmers' Market. My camera is a little less than alive & kicking at the moment, so the only picture I took was with my computer...
Such beautiful colors and shapes!! Here's the original recipe, which is from the well-known French chef Joël Robuchon. I added some notes at the end if you're interested!
(for about 8 people)
2 lbs tomatoes
2 medium onions, sliced thin
3 small zucchinis, unpeeled
2 small eggplants, unpeeled
1 green sweet pepper
1 red sweet pepper
4 cloves of garlic
1 bouquet garni (4 stems flat parsley, 3 sprigs fresh thyme, 5 basil leaves, 1 small celery branch, half a bay leaf )
1 1/2 cup olive oil
salt, ground black pepper
1- Vegetable prep:
- Plunge tomatoes 1-2 minutes in boiling water, peel, cut in half. Press tomatoes gently to remove juice and seeds; reserve juice. Dice tomatoes.
- Peel and chop onions.
- Cut zucchinis and eggplants lengthwise into small sticks.
- Cut sweet peppers in half; remove seeds and filaments and cut into wide slices.
- Peel and mince garlic.
- Wash and tie together the bouquet garni.
2 -In a deep pan, put 1/2 cup olive oil, onions and a pinch of salt; cook until translucent. Add sweet peppers and salt, let cook 4-5 minutes on low while stirring.
3 -Add tomatoes, mix and cook on low 4 to 5 minutes without browning; add a pinch of salt.
4 -Add reserved tomato juice; stir and add bouquet garni, garlic and ground black pepper. Cook, covered, on low for 30 minutes.
5 -Heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a large frying pan; add zucchini sticks; brown 5 minutes (do not salt), drain and set aside; cook eggplant in 1/2 cup olive.
6-Combine zucchini and eggplant sticks, add salt and pepper. Add to large pan with other ingredients, cover and cook gently on low for 30 minutes.
7-Transfer ratatouille to a serving dish and serve while hot.
*Perhaps I was cooking everything on heat that was too low, but I had to cook it longer than it says in order to get the vegetables just right. Bernard and I had a discussion last year about cooking it too long, though...apparently some French people like it super cooked, but he and I agreed that it was better when you could still see the shapes and colors of the vegetables.
*I found that 1/2 cup of olive oil was a little much to cook each type of vegetables. It was pretty much absorbed while cooking but then when all the vegetables were combined in a big pot, it kind of rose to the top, which was gross. Thankfully it's just olive oil so it's not terrible, but just not the most appetizing when you open the lid after having let it sit.
*I love to eat ratatouille plain because it's SO GOOD and I love tasting the vegetables, but my friends and I tried putting it over pasta, and that was pretty good too. Goat cheese sprinkled on top is excellent, and I'm going to try making baked ziti with it (instead of tomato sauce) this week.
Let me know what you think!
ps - I'm doing another study 'abroad' program this fall, but it's not actually abroad.....this time, I'll be on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in a small town called Manteo. UNC has a field site there, and I'll be taking classes and doing a planning internship. I figured I might as well keep blogging about my experiences on the same blog, so if you're interested check back in late-ish August!
