girl eat world: ratatouille

So, before you ask...no. This is not the dish from the movie. Though I have watched the movie an embarrassing number of times.

I haven't had that Thomas Keller rendition, but honestly, I think this is better. Simple, unassuming, delicious. This dish is proof that vegetables don't have to be boring.

Making ratatouille is mostly a question of technique. The key lies in "sweating"--over low heat, getting all of the water out of the veggies and releasing flavors without caramelizing and locking them in.

When you cook this way, something magic happens. The eggplant unravels softly into something far and away from horrid dining hall renditions of eggplant--delicate, mild, but delectable. Everything just sort of melds together in such a lovely way. Your ratatouille will be done in an hour--most recipes get it done in 30 minutes--but if I've got longer I just let it stew away to get all those flavors out.

It's the best to make when you've got gorgeous seasonal summer vegetables, but for those of you in frigid climates like me who say, "I just want some vegetables, dammit!"--well, it's okay if you use the stuff in the stores. It still tastes good. I won't tell if you don't. If you've got good tomatoes, add a few, but I refuse to add those horrid zombie tomatoes that are in PNW stores in February. It doesn't bear thinking about.

I eat it by the bowl on its own, but it's the best thing in the world on a sandwich with a meat--t(of)urkey works well--and a cheese, and it ages well (everyone can love that, right?)

Plus it's so beautiful!

~*~

Serves 4-5
Time: ~1 hour

2 large eggplants
1 tsp sea salt
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 small-ish yellow/green zucchini squash
2 red bell peppers
1 tbsp fresh thyme
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped (just a little bit)
2 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

_______

Heat a pan with 1 tbsp vegetable oil over medium-low heat. (Not too hot! We don't want to caramelize!) Don't use any more oil--it doesn't look like much, but we don't want the veggies to get too oily.

Wash, peel, and cut up your eggplant into even-sized pieces. Add them to the pot with salt.

Stir every few minutes, scraping up any bits that have stuck.

At around 15 minutes the eggplant pieces should all have turned brown and the volume should have shrunk. You should see that the outside is softening but should not look hard, browned, or caramelized.

Thinly slice an onion and add it to the pot with minced garlic. Stir, continuing to stir every few minutes to avoid further sticking. Add a little more salt.

After about 20 minutes your onions should be translucent and softened. Wash your peppers and zucchinis, seeding the peppers and discarding the ends of the squash. Cut your zucchini squash into thin half-rounds and your bell peppers into strips.

Add in your rosemary, thyme, and oregano, and stir to mix. Continue stirring every 5 minutes or so and scraping up stuck bits.