A simple Summer Dish
Nothing sexy here, but one of my favorites. I definitely started making this because of Disney's Ratatouille! I love cooking "peasant" dishes, so after that line, I was sold. A great summer dish, it shines when all your veggies are in season.
There are loads of recipes out there—many of which I've tried—all calling for different cooking styles. This is the method I've settled on. It incorporates my rules of cooking and coincides with tips I received from the proprietor of a take-out French chicken joint I frequent. At Chicken Provence, Sandrine serves ratatouille over brown rice with roast chicken and spoonful of harissa. Her method, brown everything, and use only fresh tomatoes in summer and canned tomatoes in winter. I couldn't agree more.
Fresh Vegetables, and GREAT TOMATOES: Although I don't have a garden, I live in a part of NYC where I have access to a fabulous veggie stand that gets awesome local produce from Long Island. With at least 10 different tomatoes options, among other things, selection can be a bit confusing. Luckily, I struck up a conversation with the owner while she was restocking tomatoes. Asking which were the ones to buy, she went in the back and pulled out a fresh box. Picked that afternoon and just arrived! Sandrine would be proud.
What you need
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 large onions
- 3 multi-colored peppers
- 6 bomb-ass tomatoes (that's a technical term)
- 3 large zucchini
- 2-4 eggplants depending on size
- 1/4 olive oil
- Salt** You will need a lot here, be prepared
- Ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup packed parsley leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup packed basil leaves, chopped
- 8 springs of thyme, leaves removed, chopped
Let's begin!
1) Cut up your veggies. Onions and peppers into to 1-inch strips; eggplant and zucchini 1-inch slices, 1/4-inch thick; tomatoes, cored and 1-inch diced.
2) Coat a dutch oven with the olive oil, and on low-med heat, sauté the garlic.
3) Add the onions and peppers to the pot and turn up the heat to medium. We need to brown things and that can't happen until we cook the water out. Sprinkle in a healthy pinch of salt, and season with brown pepper. Stir and brown those onions! We are going to brown EVERYTHING. It might take more than 20 minutes to do this. I don't really understand why most recipes only call for a sauté time of 5 mins. If you want your food to taste good, you need to brown your veggies to release maximum flavor. Take your time, it will pay off.
4) Meanwhile, preheat the over to 375°. Like I said, we're gonna brown EVERYTHING. Toss the zucchini and eggplant in olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a few cranks of black pepper. Scatter onto a baking sheet. When the oven is ready, throw them in. It should take 20 mins, you just want things to get browned, both veggies will continue to cook later when we add them to the dutch oven.
5) When the onions and peppers are browned, not transparent, add in the tomatoes. Adjust the heat to medium-low and caramelize. And add salt! I tossed in a small handful. The reason we keep adding salt is because, honestly, that's what makes food tastes great. Hate to break it to you, but that's the cold honest truth. And sorry I don't give exact quantities, I eyeball it, then taste along the way to make minor adjustments. I like to think of cooking being more of an art, not a science. It more relaxing that way! The more you cook, the better you'll get at knowing how much salt to add. In this case I just say add a lot of salt because we working with tomatoes and we need to balance the flavor. The amount of salt you really need to use might be jarring for someone not used to seeing that much go into something. My mom always has to walk away when I cook, but, in the end, you will crush it at serving time.
This should go on for about 10-15 mins.
6) Now the tomatoes should be breaking down, add in the brown zucchini and eggplant, thyme, parsley, and basil. Stir it good, and pop the lid on and let it stew for 30-40 mins. And keep tasting for seasoning! You might need salt; I had to add pepper at one point, I was totally set on salt, so keep that in mind.
7) Serve up summer goodness! I like it best over brown rice, quarter of a roasted chicken, and spiced up with a dollop of harissa!
