FoodB

Back on Labor day weekend, it was frickin' hot. So the natural place for most people to go when it is hot is to the movies (that is if you are not really a beach person). That weekend we got a chance to see Pixar's latest movie, Ratatouille. Cute little film and the only problem I had with it was that it seemed to be geared more for adults. I like animated films that are geared more for kids yet have a little things thrown in for the parents in the crowd. Those movies tend to be more light-hearted in my book.

So oddly enough when we were making the menu for last week, we got to our usual question of what soup should we make for the week. My mother gave us a really good soup book which I have been using for that same question for the past month and I came across ratatouille in it. After seeing it made in the movie we were both curious and already had an eggplant in the fridge, so why not.

Ratatouille

2 medium eggplants (2 – 2 1/2 lbs. total) cut into 1 inch dice
Salt
2 large zucchini (1 1/2 lbs. total) cut into 1 inch dice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion cut into 1 inch pieces
2 medium cloves of garlic minced
3 medium ripe tomatoes, cored, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1 Tablespoon minced fresh Thyme leaves
Ground Black pepper

1. Place the eggplant in a large colander set over a bowl. Sprinkle the eggplant with 2 teaspoons salt and toss to distribute the salt evenly. Let the eggplant stand for at least 1 hour and preferably 2 to 3 hours. Rinse the eggplant well to remove the salt and place on a triple thickness of paper towels. Cover with another triple layer of towels. Using your palms, press the eggplant firmly until it feels very firm when pressed between fingertips. Set aside.
2. Adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Toss the eggplant and zucchini with 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Divide the mixed vegetables between 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets and season liberally with salt to taste. Place the baking sheets in the oven and roast the vegetables stirring every 10 minutes, until the eggplant and zucchini are well-browned and very tender, 30 – 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring often until the onion is golden and very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook until their juices are released and tomatoes begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the reserved eggplant and zucchini to the pot, stirring gently but thoroughly to coat until the vegetables are reheated. Add the parsley, basil and thyme and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chefs Notes
For the tomatoes there is a whole process you can go through peeling the tomatoes if you don't have the best knife skills or one shortcut you could do is to buy a can of whole tomatoes that has it already done for you. Notes on the process are as follows:

Peeling Tomatoes

1. Place the cored tomatoes in a saucepan of boiling water, no more than five at a time. Boil until the skin splits and begins to curl around the cored area of the tomato, about 15 seconds for very ripe tomatoes and up to 30 seconds for firmer tomatoes. Remove the tomatoes from the water with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.


2. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel back the skins with a paring knife. Use the curled edges at the core as your point of departure.

For the Salt, I prefer to use Kosher salt when cooking and flat leaf (Italian Parsley) when recipes call for it. It gives a more fresh flavor to things.

If you don't feel like taking the time out to cut up fresh herbs you can always use dry herbs but just greatly reduce the measurements it asks for because the dry is reduced in size quite a bit.

I only used one tray for roasting the veggies because I had a big enough pan, as long as everything consists of one layer, a couple here and there is no big deal. Also I didn’t use a dutch oven, I just used a plane old skillet but reduced the heat because the heat goes through that metal a lot quicker.

End Chefs Notes

Pretty impressive stuff here. I have no idea why it was in our soup and stew book because there wasn't anything that resembled a broth involved. It was also nice to have a dinner that did not involve a meat as the star of the dish. I've noticed that most of our meals revolve around some kind of meat and the few times we have tried to veer away from this, the results have been mixed. But this is a welcome addition to our collection and a healthy choice as well.