Ratatouille The Alice Waters Way

Ratatouille - pg. 322

While out with our friends Tom and Marie recently, we planned (or rather Tom planned, since he's that kind of guy) a neighborhood bbq for this afternoon. There are 3 of us couples in the neighborhood who are friends and foodies all. Tom has quite a vegetable garden. I told him that if he'd provide the veggies, I'd make a batch of ratatouille. Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food ratatouille, of course.

Today was the day. I walked over to Tom and Marie's house this morning to get veggies directly from Tom's garden: eggplant, summer squash, and tomatoes. I supplied the sweet peppers, onions, and basil from Trader Joe's.

I've made relatively traditional ratatouille in the past, although it's been a very long time. Alice's approach is different in that she cuts everything into 1/2" dice, cooks the veggies more or less separately, adds a good bit of basil, and then mixes everything together. Since I was making a double batch to feed 9 people with plenty of leftovers, I appreciated this approach. I cut up stuff for an hour, if not more. Then cooked everything (except the tomatoes) separately in a deep 12" skillet, adding the basil bouquet, garlic, salt and crushed chili to the onion and pepper mix. When everything was cooked (except the tomatoes), I mixed it all together and just let the whole thing simmer while I took a shower and got dressed. By then, the tomatoes were well heated through, but not really cooked. Seasoning was adjusted by adding salt, pepper, and our favorite Pepper Plant Sauce (a local product).

I turned the whole thing into a covered cast iron casserole so it stayed warm all the way until dinner time. While I am not a big fan of these summer vegetables, I must admit that this ratatouille was fabulous. I ate a lot of it. There was plenty for everyone who wanted some to take it home with tons left for us. I know from past experience that ratatouille only improves with age so I'm looking forward to leftovers for several days to come. I was delighted with how the different vegetables all retained their own textures and flavors, even having been cut into such small pieces. Ratatouille can easily turn to mush, especially the eggplant. I used Tom's Japanese eggplant which probably helped. And the tomatoes were ripe but still firm.

Now. What the heck do I do with all the excess crook neck yellow squash, tomatoes, hot peppers and Japanese eggplant I still have? Tom sent me home with too much bounty from the garden. Sigh. What a horrible problem to have. (ROFLOL)

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