Loved the movie of course, but talking about the dish. This article on slate.com got me craving it: http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/08/22/ratatouille_with_olives_a_traditional_provenc_al_summer_vegetable_stew_.html My wife had a hankering for meatball subs, so tonight she whipped up a batch (pretty proud of her; no recipe and end result was one of the top 5 I've ever had) while I chopped, minced, roasted, sauteed, chiffonaded and stewed up Ratatouille over spiral noodles. Followed the Slate recipe very closely, but didn't have olives so tossed in some capers. If we had anchovies in the fridge (unusual that we don't) probably would have thrown a couple in as well. Really REALLY tasty, the entire house smells awesome, and leftovers will be better in the next days. Used zucchini, tomatoes and peppers from a friend's garden, basil and thyme from ours. Anyone have a other proven recipes? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow Kurt I'm impressed! That looks delicious. It is also one of my favorite movies. Brad Bird is a genius.
Just looked up Brad Bird's CV - he also did The Incredibles and the Iron Giant, both classics. Also "Do the Bartman" Have fun in HK Bob. I haven't been there in years but would love to go back. That Pho looks fantastic. Interesting paragraph on Wiki, talking about various schools of thought on "proper" preparation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatouille "Ratatouille is usually served as a side dish, but also may be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by pasta, rice or bread). Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, courgette, aubergine, bell peppers, marjoram and basil, or bay leaf and thyme, or a mix of green herbs like herbes de Provence. There is much debate on how to make a traditional ratatouille. One method is to simply sauté all of the vegetables together. Some cooks, including Julia Child, insist on a layering approach, where the aubergine and the courgette are sautéed separately, while the tomatoes, onion, garlic and bell peppers are made into a sauce. The ratatouille is then layered in a casserole – aubergine, courgette, tomato/pepper mixture – then baked in an oven.[3][4] A third method, favored by Joël Robuchon, is similar to the previous; however, the ingredients are not baked in an oven but rather recombined in a large pot and simmered." Next time I'll chop the eggplant just a tad bit smaller and use a few more tomatoes, but otherwise the results of the Slate recipe (Robuchon), while a bit laborious, were top notch.
Good job on the food. Big Brad Bird fan - Incredibles and Ratatouille rank high on my all time faves list...
Here is how i make Ratatouille.... fresh tomatoes zucchini eggplant yellow squash garlic shallots thyme basil bayleaf lavender sea salt coarse pepper ground coriander nutmeg white wine Olive oil I use 2 hands of garlic ... One i cook in olive oil slow over low heat - like a confit. for the ratatouile : all the veggies are rough cut ... oil in a hot pan, add garlic and shallots... cook till they are transparent, dont get them brown, then add in the squash, and eggplant. cook till its lightly browned. then add in the tomatoes and turn up the heat, cook till half liquid is gone, add wine and herbs... cook till fork tender. i reseason with salt & pepper & coriander just at the end. to serve i add in the garlic confit mashed up to "thicken" sauce... serve with some parmesan cheese, and or crumbled goat cheese and crusty breat, and cote du rhone....
man Spirot now I'm hungry! I'm definitely upping the garlic next time (only used 5 cloves), and like the "confit" prep concept with 1/2. Will also try a final sprinkle of parm or peccorino. Lavender and nutmeg are interesting additions. At the Julia Child birthday dinner 2 weeks ago they served champagne with a sprig of lavender - very nice. I dig shallots just refuse to pay $4+ for a tiny bag of them. Used $0.59/lb common yellow onions. "for the ratatouile : all the veggies are rough cut ..." LOL I had a hard time "rough" cutting the veggies. After splitting the zuch and eggplant lengthwise and through, I purposefully made non-parallel final cuts, felt a bit goofy doing so Maybe I should just close my eyes and hack away with a chef's knife. I'm away on biz, but my wife told me last night she put a few anchovies and a squeeze of lemon on the leftovers she had for dinner with a crusty baguette and it was awesome. Great dish for experimenting with complimentary ingredients!
The most important thing on cutting the veggies is that they are the same size. use of onions is fine... you can also use some pearl onions for looks too.
