Ratatouille

Anne Marie’s own homemade ratatouille.

When I was a junior or senior in high school, I wanted to host dinner parties for my friends. The only problem was that I didn’t know how to make dinner. Or to host. My mother taught how to make ratatouille. It was the first thing I learned how to cook.

This is more or less the same recipe I’ve been making since I was fifteen, with only a few innovations of my own. I slavishly followed the recipe she gave me until I lost the card in my mid-thirties. Then, I had to wing it from memory; and that’s when I started to improvise a little. My improvisations qualify mostly as shortcuts – ones I’ve implemented with good effect

Ratatouille is a simple, provincial vegetable stew, so the truth is, you can add whatever’s in the crisper to it. This makes it an efficient dish for household economy, because you can be sure you’re using all of your produce and because you can bulk it up to make it go farther (mushrooms and potatoes are particularly good for this). Because of its flexibility, ratatouille is good for feeding a crowd.

Traditionally, a ratatouille contains at least eggplant, onions, and squash at its core. Good bay leaves are essential but other herbs are optional. When I made my most recent batch, I used fresh oregano and basil, stirred in at the end. If you serve it without a starch underneath, it would be great to ladle over a dollop of pistou of fresh herbs, some minced garlic, and Parmesan.

Ingredients:

½ c. olive oil

4 cloves garlic

2 medium-large onions

1 whole eggplant

3 zucchini

3 summer squash

1 green pepper

1 red pepper

1 large box/can of chopped tomatoes (~27 oz.), including juice

2 bay leaves

1 t. dried herbs or 2 handfuls of fresh

salt and pepper

tomato paste, optional

To make:

Heat most of the olive oil in a dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat.

Add a teaspoon of kosher salt and grind pepper into the oil til your wrist is tired. If using dried herbs, use about a teaspoon total and add it to the oil as it warms. I like to use a teaspoon of herbes de provence, but you can also use a half and half combination of basil and oregano. If you are planning to use fresh herbs instead, hold off on adding them until later.

Remove the garlic’s skin and smash the clove. Chop the onion. Add both to the pan and cook until the onions are translucent and golden, but not browned.

While the onion and garlic are cooking, peel the eggplant and cut it into 1 inch cubes.  Core the peppers and cut into 1 inch pieces. Quarter the squash and zucchini lengthwise and chop roughly into 1 inch cubes.

Add the vegetables to the pot as you chop. Once all your fresh vegetables are in the pan, add a bit more olive oil, stir to incorporate them all, and reduce the heat slightly.

Be sure that when you stir, the spoon reaches to and scrapes the bottom of the pan. The only way you can really ruin a ratatouille is by burning it to the bottom. I’ve done this countless times, in fact, and really it only messes up the half-pot closest to the bottom – the rest is still perfectly good (a phrase no one but a parent uses…)

Once the vegetables are golden and somewhat softened, add 1 large box/can of chopped tomatoes. Stir to incorporate. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat. Once the ratatouille is bubbling, lower the heat and cover with lid askew. Be sure to stir regularly and lower the heat as needed to prevent sticking and burning on the bottom.

A note on tomatoes: I like to use boxes of Pomi tomatoes because most canned varieties still report that they have linings containing BPA. Any large can of tomatoes will do, however. If all you have on hand are whole, peeled tomatoes, I recommend a quick chop or swish through the food processor before adding.

When the stew coheres and thickens, it’s done. To speed up the process of thickening the ratatouille, you can add up to a half-can of tomato paste and/or raise the heat, but it will need to cook for about an hour on the stovetop to reach its full potential.

If you are using fresh herbs, mince the leaves and toss in just before removing the pot from the heat.

Ratatouille, like all tomato-based dishes, is usually better the next day, which makes it a good choice to make ahead and/or freeze.

My favorite way to serve ratatouille these days is over a creamy parmesan polenta. But it’s great over most rices, pastas, or grains.

If you stretch the stew with potatoes, you may not want any more starch. You can intensify the flavors of the stew by pouring each serving over a tablespoon of a quick pistou at the bottom of the dish instead.

For a pistou: Using mortar and pestle, mix together to make a paste of tomato paste, finely minced garlic, salt, parmesan, olive oil, and herbs. Put a spoonful in the center of a soup plate and pour ratatouille over the top.

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