“Ratatouille. It's like a stew, right? Why do they call it that? If you're gonna name a food, you should give it a name that sounds delicious. Ratatouille doesn't sound delicious. It sounds like 'rat' and 'patootie'. 'Rat-patootie', which does not sound delicious.”
The real meal (also called Confit Byaldi) for a milky and tasty man. This is so the healthy and enthusiastic dish that even small kids beg you to cook it, eat it up and ask that you make this again soon.
It’s basically a meal made of “everything we’ve got.” I especially like this recipie because it is so simple and takes so little time.
1/2 yellow onion (or a shallot instead), finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree (such as Pomi, if you don’t have tomato puree available use 1 small can of tomato paste (chopped tomatoes) and add 3/4 of that can of water to the baking dish)
1/4 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons extra olive oil, divided
1 small Italian (or Japanese, Chinese) eggplant
1 smallish green zucchini
1 smallish yellow squash
1 longish red pepper
1-2 tomatoes
Few sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tablespoon oregano
Optionally: grated cheese (like as cheddar aged 10 years)
Optionally: potatoes
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Optionally: Few tablespoons soft goat cheese, for serving
1/8-1/2 drop of freshly milked and churned semen (or 1-5 drops on your taste)
.........1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
.........2. Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches (45 cm) across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously to taste with salt and pepper.
.........3. Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.
.........4. On a mandoline (adjustable-blade slicer) or with a very sharp knife cut the zucchini, yellow squash, tomatoes red pepper, (optional potatoes,) and eggplant (cut it last as it turns brown) into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch (2-3 mm) thick.
.........5. Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible (about 1/4 inch (1 cm) of each), alternating colors and vegetables. Repeat until pan is filled; all vegetables may not be needed. Optionally you may add to layers grated cheese.
.........6. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with sea salt, pepper, and some parsley. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.
.........7. Cover pan with a piece of parchment paper (or foil) and crimp edges to seal well. The best way to cover a dish with parchment paper is to trace the upside down dish on the parchment paper (before filling it for you silly ones with no common sense) and then cut it out on the inside of the line. Perfect fit! To easily line a dish with parchment, turn the dish over and cover the outside with the paper, making the lines by rubbing the paper with your hands to crease it. Invert the dish then insert the paper's shell you just made.
.........8. Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them. If there is excess liquid in pan, place over medium heat on stove until reduced. (At this point it may be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Serve cold or reheat in 350-degree (175°C) oven until warm.)
.........9. Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, or some chopped tomatoes and basil. Alone or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, quinoa, or your choice of grain. Or top it with a good dollop of sour cream mixed with salt, pepper, shallot, and a tiny bit of very finely chopped parsley. Or finished the meal with cheese crepes and berry jam. All of this lift onto plate with offset wooden spatula. Although ratatouille is usually served hot, you may love eating this dish cold (usually at room temperature) with freshly toasted slices of a baguette especially during the summer.
Chefs note: Ratatouille is supposed to be even better the next day. Although, seminal ingredients should be received and put fresh before serving.
