Ratatouille: Or the Reason to Grow Eggplant

Ratatouille, (rat-ə-too-ee) a classic French Provencal vegetable casserole, is a beautifully simple, yet delicious dish to prepare and serve.

I saw a recipe for ratatouille yesterday and thought: I have all of these ingredients growing in my garden right now, and I have never tried to make this dish before.  So I harvested my zucchini, Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes, parsley, and my eggplant, and with the onions, peppers, garlic, olive oil, mushrooms, and herbs de provence in my house, I made this incredible meal.  I mean ratatouille is delicious and easy to make!

This is only my second or third try at growing eggplant. For one, I never knew what to do with the eggplant once it grew, and for two, it requires a long hot summer which we don’t always get in the inland Northwest.  I saw a Black Beauty plant somewhere this Spring and decided to give it a try.  Now that I’ve discovered ratatouille, I wish I had planted more than one.

A few years ago, I had a painter working on my home from Bulgaria. Sergei was extremely handsome with black wavy hair, although barely 5’ 2” I’m guessing, and an adorable flirt.  One day at lunch, I gave him some food, and he had me try this dish of mixed vegetables (including eggplant)  that he spread on bread.  He told me his mother canned hundreds of jars of this each year.  It was delicious; the name it was called was something Bulgarian, and I thought in the back of my mind, I have got to find out what this dish is and get a recipe.  Now I know: it must have been the Bulgarian version of ratatouille.  (I just looked it up and it’s called Ghiveci.)

Don’t be afraid to give eggplants a try and ratatouille.  It is one of the best vegetable dishes I have ever eaten.

This is the recipe I used. i substituted my fresh tomatoes for the canned ones and added a few mushrooms.

4-6 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 oz. [2 tablespoons] butter
• 2 fl. oz [1/4 cup] olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 medium sized aubergines [eggplants], thinly sliced and degorged
• 1 large green pepper, white pith removed, seeded and chopped
• 1 large red pepper, white pith removed, seeded and chopped
• 5 medium sized courgettes [zucchini], trimmed and sliced
• 14 oz. canned peeled tomatoes
• Herbes de Provence to taste [or 1 teaspoon each dried basil and dried rosemary]
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Melt the butter with the oil over a moderate heat in a large flameproof casserole.

When foam subsides, add onions and garlic and fry for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and translucent but not brown.

Add aubergine [eggplant], green and red peppers and courgettes [zucchini] to casserole and fry for 5 minutes, shaking the casserole frequently.

Add tomatoes with the can juice, Herbes de Provence or the basil and rosemary plus salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the parsley.

Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low, cover casserole and simmer for 30-40 minutes, OR until vegetables are tender but still quite firm.

N.B. Vegetables must not be 'mushy', so be careful not to overcook.

Remove from heat and serve at once, straight from the casserole.

http://www.french-country-decor-guide.com/ratatouille.html

I sauteed my vegetables slowly in my cast iron frying pan, starting with the onion and eggplant and adding one more vegetable at a time with the tomatoes and garlic last for about 20-30 minutes at a medium low heat.  I ate it immediately. I made ¼ of the above recipe and used much less zucchini and much more garlic and herbs de provence.