I’m on a tear, cooking something
new and special everyday, as my devoted readers have no doubt noticed. My usual modus
operandi is to spice things up with a hop-skip-and-jump blend of travel,
book reviews, food and the occasional short fiction. But, travel won’t start in earnest for
another week or so, and I’m between books.
But, still I sally forth to entertain.
You’ll notice my recipes of
late have spanned the great divide between healthy low carb entrées and
devil-may-care carb-gorging. Well, today
it’s back to low carb and for a couple of very special reasons.
When possible, I like to cook
something on Sunday that will fill lunch pails for the rest of the week, which
brings me to reason two. Wives can be
very demanding and one thing they demand is variety. Did I really say ‘can be very demanding?' I
meant viciously demanding. And leave the can
out.
What is so delicious that it
satisfies a schizophrenic wife…whoops, now I’m being redundant… five days in a
row?
I’ve got a one-word
answer: Ratatouille. The first thing to learn is how to pronounce
it. The A-mur-i-kin version sounds more
like Rata-twooy, to rhyme with dewey.
The much more sophisticated French on the other hand…and after all they
own the word… say Rata-tu-ee. Purse your
lips when you say the tu part, then soften and slightly lengthen the double e
like a French mouse who just learned the disadvantage of being the first one to
the cheese.
With a cooking time of four to
five hours, this dish screams for a slow cooker, but since I don’t have one, I
settled for a conventional oven set at 275ºF (135ºC)
Ratatouille
My Way
There is no ONE recipe for
ratatouille. My guess is, every wife and
scullery maid in Provence has a slightly different approach. So, rather than
insisting on just one way to peel a potato, I humbly title this version Ratatouille
My Way.
2 Medium unpeeled eggplants
cut in a medium to small dice
3 Medium zucchini, halved
lengthwise, then thinly sliced
2 Medium onions, halved and
thinly sliced
8 Cloves of garlic, peeled,
thinly sliced, then roughly chopped
1 Large red bell pepper,
medium dice
1 28oz can tomatoes (I use
whole tomatoes and crush them by hand)
1/3 Cup olive oil
¼ Cup Balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried coriander
A fist full of fresh basil
leaves, removed from the stalks and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil on medium to low.
Add the onion and garlic. Cook and stir
until they are limp and barely golden.
Careful not to burn them!
Add the diced eggplant, bell
pepper, and sliced zucchini and mix well.
Stir frequently.
When the vegetables have
cooked down a bit and are looking limp, add the hand-crushed, undrained
tomatoes, Balsamic vinegar and herbs.
Stir well.
At this point there will be a
lot of liquid in the bottom of the pot.
Bring to a boil.
Cover and put the pot in the
pre-heated oven. Cook for four to five
hours. The vegetables should be very
soft, but there will still be a lot of liquid.
Put the pot back on the
stovetop and bring to a boil. Stir
occasionally and cook until the liquid is greatly reduced. You’re not making soup! This is a hearty, filling blend of sumptuous
vegetables that can stand up to a hearty meat dish, and demanding wife.
Voilà! C’est magnifique! But, don’t forget the wine! And tell your wife, of course I didn’t mean her!
