A Dish Made Famous by a Cartoon Rat by Nadeen M. Thomas

A Dish Made Famous by a Cartoon Rat 

by Nadeen M. Thomas

 

Bowl with eggplant, purple and green peppers, garlic, onion, yellow and green zucchini, next to a plastic carton of yellow and red cherry tomatoes and a white container of fresh basil. Photo by author.

August is ratatouille season, as far as I'm concerned.  This week the CSA provided almost everything I needed; I did have to purchase an eggplant from my local greengrocer.

If you've seen the animated film, Ratatouille, you might think that the dish is a fancy and fussy treat for only the most rarefied palates.  It can be, but ratatouille is hearty peasant fare.  I don't use a recipe.  You can use whatever you have on hand.  It's a little fussy, but it's very forgiving.

Ingredients:

eggplant

zucchini or other summer squash

bell or other not-hot pepper

onion

tomatoes (any kind, even canned)

garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper

herbs (herbes de Provence are classic, but you can use oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, paprika, cumin, red pepper flakes, whatever you have at hand)

Notice there are no amounts above.  Use what you have.  If you only have one zucchini, use one zucchini.  If you have two little eggplants, use them both.  Use as much olive oil as you'd like and as much garlic as you can tolerate.  Like I said, ratatouille is forgiving.

Tools:

Chef's knife, cutting board, colander, bowl, wooden spoon, frying pan, tongs, dutch oven or a stockpot with a lid (Food processor optional).

Preparation:

Chop all the vegetables into 1-inch chunks.  I blitz the onion, bell pepper, and garlic cloves in the food processor because I prefer them smaller.  Everything else I chop by hand.  You want the pieces of eggplant and zucchini to be roughly the same size. Chop your tomatoes: if they are cherry tomatoes, cut them in half.  If they are canned plum tomatoes, take them out of the liquid and chop each into 4 pieces. (Save the liquid for another dish).

Toss the eggplant pieces in a little salt and let them sit in a colander for a bit until liquid drains from them.  If you are using the thin Japanese eggplant, you can skip this step. (No need to dirty a dishtowel or use cheesecloth.  Just put them straight into the colander over a bowl).

Technique:

Heat some olive oil in a dutch oven and add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.  Saute until the vegetables begin to soften, but not cook completely.  If you are using raw tomatoes, you can add them now or later, as they don't require a lot of time to cook.  Add your salt, pepper, spices, and dried herbs. Turn the fire down to very low.

Green oval dutch oven with chopped onion, garlic, and peppers on a stovetop with a wooden spoon and a frying pan with eggplant pieces.

 

In a frying pan, saute the eggplant and zucchini in olive oil in batches. You want the pieces to get some brown color on the edges, but not cook completely.  Add each batch of sauteed eggplant and zucchini to the dutch oven and give it a stir.

If you are using canned tomatoes, add them last, after all the other vegetables.

Give everything another stir.  Taste test for seasoning and adjust as necessary.  If you're using fresh herbs, add them now.

Put the lid on the pot and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes on the lowest setting.  

Ratatouille!

You can serve ratatouille the traditional way with crusty bread and scrambled eggs.  I like it on top of cheesy polenta or couscous, too.

Bon appetit!

**********

Interested in learning more about the Norwood CSA? Check out our Info Page: https://norwoodfoodcoop.blogspot.com/2021/10/how-to-join-norwood-csa.html