Thursday, September 15, 2011

Ratatouille


Ratatouille is one of those dishes from southern France (Provence) that can be oh, so very good, or oh, so very bad. This is a sort of recipe. 

It's a great way to use late summer vegetables - zucchini, eggplant, onions, sweet peppers and tomatoes all meld into a delectable dish. And I've found that it can be frozen successfully - it loses a little of the texture, but not much and if baked with a cheese topping - mmmm good. Of course, fresh is best.

The way I make it takes awhile, so I like to make a big batch and have leftovers. Basically all the vegetables are cut into pieces and sauteed slowly until tender. I like to saute each vegetable separately, in olive oil, each with a separate herb and salt.

Onions - thyme
Red or Orange Peppers - rosemary
Zucchini - oregano
Eggplant - just salt and pepper
Tomatoes - garlic

Combine all the sauteed vegetables and then add a good squeeze of lemon juice and perhaps some finely chopped mint.

I could eat just this for dinner, or lunch, by itself. But paired with some crusty bread and a hunk of cheese - perfection!

7 comments:

  1. You go to a lot of effort to get the best-tasting ratatouille. It looks beautiful and so fresh and so tasty. I don't believe that I've ever tried this one before, though I've certainly heard about this classic dish. I happen to have some eensy-teensy peppers and a zucchini...wonder if I have your patience... (Doubt it highly.)

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  2. We love it too. I like it leftover with a heavy thick-sliced bread.

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  3. It's one of our favourites too.I'm using up all the last courgettes (zucchini)at the moment. I roast all the vegetables rather than stewing them...just a matter of different methods and taste I guess.

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  4. This one looks perfect to me!

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  5. Lorrie,
    This looks really delicious. The picture sure caught my eye on my sidebar!
    -Karen

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  6. Oh my goodness - it looks so delicious and is good inspiration for our fall suppers here on the farm. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  7. Lovely image, Lorrie!

    You're absolutely right, Ratatouille can be very good or just very boring.
    The trick is not to overcook the zuccinis and
    I always add either some pepperoni or sometimes a pinch of curry to it, this gives just a kind of 'umpff' if you know what I mean.....
    Apart from that - Bon Appétit!

    Best wishes for a good start in the week and greetings,
    karin

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