Ratatouille
Recently this hard-to-pronounce French dish became a household word in America overnight, when the delightful movie Ratatouille swept the country and won our hearts. Not many Americans would begin to know how to make a ratatouille, but that such a dish had the power to evoke an overwhelming taste memory was something we could relate to. I fell in love with ratatouille when I was a jeune fille living in Paris, and I have been partial to it ever since. There is a classic way to make it—cooking each of the ingredients separately, then putting them all together—but that is time-consuming, and I’m not really sure that it produces such a superior dish. I feel that rules are made to be bent in cooking, and that there’s no harm in simplifying and putting your own imprint on a dish. So here is my version, subject to variations according to the season. I always make triple the amount I’m going to eat immediately, because I put it to so many good uses.
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Peel and cut the onion in half lengthwise, then into fairly thick slices. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large, heavy skillet, and sauté the onion. With a vegetable peeler, partially peel the eggplant, then cut it into even-sized chunks, about 3/4 inch each, with a little skin. Cut the zucchini into 3/4-inch pieces, too, and toss these vegetables in with the onions and sauté together, stirring frequently. As they brown and the pan gets dry, pour in the remaining olive oil and add the pepper, cut into pieces of the same size. Salt everything, and let cook, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Roughly chop the tomatoes, add them to the skillet, and cook slowly another 10–15 minutes, covered, until everything is tender and intermingled. Taste, and add salt if needed. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top.
Variations
Step 2
You can include mushrooms—whole, if small, or quartered—adding them when you put in the pepper. You can omit the pepper, but I like the touch of color and the sweetness it adds. You can also include chopped garlic when you’re browning the eggplant, but be careful it doesn’t brown too much or its flavor will overwhelm.
Second Rounds
Step 3
Ratatouille is a treasure to have on hand. It is delicious chilled, and wonderful with eggs—in an omelet or with a poached egg embedded in it—and you can use it as a sauce for pasta. For that you’ll need 3/4–1 cup ratatouille, warmed up and thinned with a little pasta water; this is enough to dress 2–3 ounces of pasta (penne, fusilli, or shells preferred), tossed with more chopped parsley and, of course, with freshly grated Parmesan.
