Well, my last article was for my friends with a sweet tooth, but this one is for the one who loves spice. I guess most of you must have watched the Disney movie, Ratatouille. It is about a rat which is extremely passionate about cooking and is gifted with a strong sense of taste and smell. This movie has inspired me to write about this dish.
Ratatouille is a traditional French delicacy. It is a stewed vegetable dish, usually served as an extra but can also be served as a main dish accompanied by pasta, rice or bread. It’s a kind of ‘set and forget’ oven-baked summer dish with generous amounts tomatoes, onions, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, fennel, basil, thyme, and mix of various herbs. This rainbow dish is a treat to your eyes as much to as it is to your taste buds. It is also known as a “peasant food” as its simple and inexpensive to make.
It can either be served as good hot, warm or cold. It can also be prepared, refrigerated until ready to be served. There are many versions of preparing this dish. One method is to cook zucchini and egg plants separately, while tomato onion bell peppers are made into a sauce. Another method is to layer eggplants zucchini tomato in a casserole, then bake it in an oven. Here is my version of ratatouille:
Ingredients needed:
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1 cup olive oil
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2 red onion finely chopped
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5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
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2 eggplants with skin chopped in cubes
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5-6 fresh thyme leaves
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1 green bell pepper chopped in cubes
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1 red bell pepper chopped in cubes
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1 yellow bell pepper chopped in cubes
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1 zucchini chopped in cubes
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1 yellow squash chopped in cubes
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3 fresh juicy tomatoes finely chopped
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5-6 basil and parsley leaves finely chopped
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Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
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Take a medium size saute pan, add olive oil and leave it over medium heat.
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Once hot, add finely chopped onions and garlic to the pan.
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Cook the onions till medium brown so that its lightly caramelized about 4 to 5 minutes.
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Add diced eggplants and thyme to the pan.
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Continue to cool until eggplant is partially cooked.
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Add green, red, yellow diced bell peppers along with diced zucchini and squash and continue to cook for another 4 to 5 minutes until all the ingredients are partially cooked.
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Once cooked, add finely chopped tomatoes basil and parley to the mixture and continue cooking till all the ingredients blend into cooked tomato paste.
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Add salt and pepper to the mixture and stir well to blend.
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Serve hot along with rice, pasta or bread.
It can also be added as a stuffing for an omelette, also along with crepe rather than rice or bread. I recommend each and every one to try this dish at home as it’s easy to make as well as delicious to taste.
