Saturday, August 4, 2007

Not Just a Disney Movie

The garden is at last in its tomato-laden glory. The zucchini plants cannot be stopped, and the eggplants are now reaching their gorgeous, glossy, purple maturity. It is, therefore, time to make ratatouille. And time for the long-promised ratatouille recipe. When I make it, I don't worry too much about exact proportions (surprise), and I think I roast it longer, but it is a very forgiving recipe. You can add more oil, or use less if you have juicy tomatoes.

Do go and buy the Herbes de Provence, which give the dish its unique flavor, and don't be afraid to use them. Ratatouille stores well, and is great with some goat cheese for pasta, pizza, risotto, even mixed with a little oil and vinegar as a salad if you leave it on the undercooked side. Ratatouille pizza with goat cheese, on almost any lavosh, flatbread, pizza dough or foccacia, with a little salad, is a super-quick weeknight dinner for us. The original recipe, from Bon Appetit, included a roasted filet of halibut, placed in a spot cleared in the middle of the still-roasting vegetables, which makes a great summer dinner too. If you've already got the barbecue fired up, you can also do this in a heavy pan over the waning coals after the steaks are done.

Ratatouille
1 1-pound eggplant, unpeeled, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (note- one one pound eggplant, not an eleven pound eggplant)
1 pound tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, flattened (I use as many as 6)
2 tablespoons olive oil (I am positively unrestrained with the olive oil. I skip the nonstick spray.)
1 1/2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Spread next 5 ingredients on sheet. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with Herbes de
Provence, salt, and pepper. Roast vegetables until tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. (I generally roast for 20 minutes, then stir, roast another 20, stir, and see how I like the look of it from there.)