It’s a peasant dish, different in each grand-mere’s kitchen.
The most interesting I have encountered and later duplicated was not quintessential. The zucchini and eggplant were both cut in quarter inch dice and quickly sauteed, not allowed to get mushy. Combined with crushed tomato and basil. A beautiful spoonful on the plate and a light and bright side dish.
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This is one I make from time to time. I’m not sure how faithfully we (my daughters and I, I should add, because they’re always in the mix when we make it) follow the recipe, but we do definitely try to mimic the look. We add a bit of this/that as well.
It turns out quite pretty in appearance (pre-and post-baked, below is a stock image of that recipe pre-baked) and tastes great - everyone (5 of us) except my wife loves it. My wife for some reason has never cottoned to it. [Edit - well, she eats it just fine, she just goes “Meh” whenever we mention it.]
We’ve also several times used the NYT recipe, except my brain is branded in the mold of “it must be an oval or round pan/dish”, so I mod it that way.
Having 4 kids when the Dis/Pix movie came out who were young enough to like the movie is what got us into making it in the first place.
Also what got us into cutting several cheeses and trying 2 then 3 of them together, like the one rat showed his brother. Before this movie I doubt I had more than 3 kinds of cheeses (other than sliced deli stuff) on-hand at any one time. Since then, and still to today, we have 10-12+ kinds of cheeses on hand at any given time.
I do need to back off now that I’ve so many in college, though.
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Thanks. It was super juicy and delicious.
This, rather than pinterest spirals, what you will get in the south of France.
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One of my favorites…makes a great side with lamb, but can be eaten warm or cold and tastes better the next day. Over rice it’s a perfect light lunch
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The mere mention of the word makes me wanna gag. It was a terrible childhood experience repeated many times that keeps me away. Your pictures look great though. There may be hope. I should put this on the food aversion thread.
I make briam or tourlou tourlou instead of ratatouille.
I have the college issue. Daughter just graduated and the boy’s going back for his final year on Saturday. I have to reduce the quantities I cook. Hate wasting good food.
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I make it in a 7 quart slow cooker.
Cube a large eggp!ant, salt and let drain in a sieve for 30 minutes. Mix equal parts tomato paste and olive oil. I use a 6 oz can. Making two layers:
Layer sliced onion, eggplant, red and green pepper strips, sliced zucchini or summer squash, minced garlic and tomato paste mixture.
Cook on low 6-8 hours until tender. Stir in some chopped fresh basil and some capers (optional).
Makes a lot, but freezes well
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Thanks @Phoenikia those look great too. Seems like a recipe where you can add different stuff and use what you have. Jalapenos are coming to mind. Gotta say I’ve never had eggplant as sweet and flavorful as we did last night. I also don’t think ive enjoyed a long cooked 100% veggie dish as much as this maybe ever. Might throw the rest into a few bowls of spaghetti tonight with some parsley and basil. The basil really brought out the sweetness of the veggies.
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Have you made imam bayildi before?
It’s another great dish for eggplant.
I also like this papoutsakia (I make mine with meat, but veggie recipes exist)
Looks tasty - haven’t. We like stuffed peppers, so why not stuffed eggplants.
Only other dish I’ve ever made with eggplant is eggplant parm, or putting some into a tomato sauce.
One of my kids is a vegetarian so trying some new things out.
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I really like an Calabrian eggplant parm that was part of a cookbook of the month on chowhound 8 years ago. The eggplant wasn’t breaded or fried. It was roasted. If you search Rosetta Cosentino eggplant parm, her fb video comes up in the search. It isn’t linking for me.
It was from My Calabria. Rosetta has some other recipes here, but I’m not seeing the recipe for the parm
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I an a huge fan of Alice Waters ratatouille recipe although it doesn’t look like the one in the movie.
The dish in the movie, Ratatouille, isn’t a ratatouille; it’s a tian.
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THAT’S the word I was trying to come up with. Couldnt come up with tian to save my life.
Many classic recipes call only for thyme. Probably correct in the south of France, but fresh basil does brighten it up several degrees.
Again, chunky vegetables are classic, but finely cubed create a really elegant side,
This was very comforting and delicious today as well. Basil def. does bring out even more sweetness.
I will try the cubed route next time. No way to get it close to the movie look not for me but the layered was also cool and cooked well.
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A stunning bowl! Kudos. Our rat experience has been in French bistros. But just remember that there are as many ratatouilles as there are French grandmothers. Who’s to argue?
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Thanks I was the beneficiary of a lot of help here and would try the dish again.
Cheers!
The Alice Waters recipe is my go to recipe as well. I do a pretty small dice, she calls for 1/2 inch which is smaller than the Food 52 picture, my interpretation of1/2 inch looks like the cut in pilgrim’s post. I enjoy it that way especially since it makes it easy to pile it on small toasts for an easy picking lunch
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