Ratatouille redux

As I mentioned earlier, there is nothing like receiving boxes full of what is in season in August to explain the invention of ratatouille. Ratatouille keeps well, freezes well, and indeed is at its best when it has had a chance to sit around a bit before you eat it cold or reheat it.

One of our favorite dinners of late has been to dump some ratatouille into a baking dish and make two little hollows. Into each hollow an egg is cracked, and then the whole thing goes in to bake until the egg whites are allllllmost completely opaque. Out it comes again to have some grated cheese dumped over top, and then back into the oven until the cheese is bubbly. This is not a beautiful dish, but it is satisfying and delicious. I am looking forward to breaking out the frozen ratatouille come January or so and enjoying it again then.

The recipe I've been using lately is an adaption of the one at Ruth's Kitchen. This is a variation on the Julia Child method in which each vegetable is sauteed separately; here, the eggplant and squash are roasted in the oven, which both involves less oil (a minor concern in my view, but still good to know) and lets you cook things simultaneously instead of sequentially so that it doesn't all take three thousand years to get done. It also tastes lovely.

RATATOUILLE

1 pound of summer squash sliced into 1/8" slices
1 to 1 1/2 pounds eggplant, cut into about 1" cubes or slightly larger
3 T. olive oil 1
1/2 pounds onions, halved and cut into thin slices
2 green peppers, sliced
3 cloves mashed garlic
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced, then cut into 1/2" strips, or the same amount of good canned diced tomatoes
3 T. basil, torn salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange the zucchini and eggplant pieces in a single layer on two oiled cookie sheets. Brush the vegetables with olive oil, and bake until they are a little toasty all over.

Meanwhile, saute the onions and peppers slowly in the remaining olive oil until they are soft and limp. Add the garlic. Dump the tomatoes on top of the peppers and onions and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Cook 5 minutes. Uncover, baste with the tomato juices, turn the heat up to medium-high, and let the mixture boil for several minutes without stirring, until most of the juice has evaporated.

Now arrange the vegetables in your dutch oven or the like. Put one third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of of the pot. Sprinkle a third of the basil over top. Then arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half of the remaining tomatoes and basil. Finally spread the rest of the eggplant and zucchini on top of this, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and basil. Cover the pot and simmer undisturbed for 15 minutes.

Remove the lid and correct seasoning if necessary. Raise the heat and cook for another 15 minutes, basting -- not stirring! -- if the top gets dry. Cool and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold, warm, or hot. Makes lots.

Comments

[anapestic]

Do you remove the peel(s) of the eggplant(s) before you cut the flesh into cubes? Also, can you explain to me why "unpeeled" means that the peel is still on whereas "unclothed" means that the clothes are off? In a similar vein, I should very much like to know whether an unpealed bell has been rung.

[aleza]

you know about shakshouka, right? very similar to your ratatouille/egg combo: you saute whole cumin/a few dried hot peppers/lots of garlic/chopped onions/any color peppers you have around/perhaps a chopped zuchinni/then a few big chopped tomatoes, letting it cook into something between a saute and a sauce, and then do the depression-creation/egg cracking/cover to cook routine.

all on top of the stove, and good for breakfast or lunch. moroccan, i'm told, but i know it by way of israel

[redfox]

I do leave the peel on the eggplant. It tastes fine and I feel it makes the end product look a bit more dramatic and also less like undifferentiated mush.

For some reason lately every time someone mentions bells to me, my brain has been piping up to say "a bell is a cup until it is struck," which is the name of an album by Wire but also I think a traditional something or other. I know not what.

I have not heard of shakshouka before. It sounds delicious. I will try it as soon as I have remedied my current tragic lack of garlic.

[lindy]

You will be glad to know that I tried this again and got the eggs right this time, and also more cheese, which was good. I think I will be trying your rataouille soon, as it sounds good and I have never settled on a particular version as my own.

Mr anapestic, sir: As to "unpeeled" and "unclothed": The eggplant has not been peeled. The person has not been clothed. (Unless, of course, they were previously clothed, and then de-clothed.) Eggplants come with peels, people with skin, and clothes must be added later.

[lindy]

PS That Ruth's Kitchen site is wonderful.

[redfox]

Isn't it? It seems so much like the kind of thing that might be full of boring, bland stuff or overly frou-frou recipes, but no, they're great.

Ratatouille with eggs for supper again tonight (preceded by the gazpacho I wrote about above). Good stuff.

[Amy]

I use any or all of the following spices when I make ratatouille, based on a recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook. It makes for a spicier curry-type version, and I absolutely love the cinnamon/cardamom taste.
- mustard seeds, ginger, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, pepper, chili powder

[erin]

I was faced with the afore-mentioned late summer glut from my CSA and tried your ratatouille--so glad I did, because I was under the impression that ratatouille was watery and undifferentiated (as you say above) and generally slimy and not that interesting, served wetly over brown rice. I was thrilled to discover that your's was more like a caponata or a relish--intense and sticky and sweetish. I thought that the next time I make, I might go more the Sicilian route, adding some kalamatas and pine nuts, but the Moosewood spice suggestions above sound great too. Thanks for posting such a delicious and versatile dish.