Ratatouille (The Food, Not the Movie)

That said, Pixar's Ratatouille is one of my favorite animated movies of all time. I just loved Chef Gusteau's mantra: "Anyone can cook!" Hey, a little cheesy, but I believe it.

Anyway, getting to the point: ratatouille (pronounced ra-ta-too-ee in English and rah-tah-toy-yuh in French). One of my favorite meals. I really developed a taste for it in (guess where) Provence, when I was there last summer. It's a vegetable stew, but the great thing about it is that you can pretty much make it anything you want. So if you like some of the veggies but not others, you can add or take out whatever you like. It's really up to you. However, I tend to stick by the same recipe every time, with some slight changes now and then.

This is a dish I love to make up at school, because you can make a big batch of it and eat it throughout the week. As busy as I am, I find this very convenient. The nice thing about ratatouille is that you get a delicious, healthy meal that you can make in advance--it's a stew, so the longer it sits, the better it tastes. Within reason, of course. Also, the colors are fantastic!

So here it is, my favorite ratatouille recipe...

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
3 bell peppers (whatever colors you like)
1 onion
1 cup of pasta sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
fresh basil
dried herbs (I use herbes de Provence)
olive oil
several cloves-worth of minced garlic

Equipment:
2 cookie sheets
1 cutting board
1 medium skillet
1 large stew pot

Prep Time: about 45 minutes

1. Start by chopping the zucchini, eggplant, and peppers into chunks. This is a rustic sort of dish, so big pieces are okay, as long as everything is the same size. As a metric to follow, start with the zucchini: slice it lengthwise into fourths, then chop into pieces about a half inch thick. As long as all the veggies end up about that size, you're ready to rock and roll.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Spread out your peppers onto one cookie sheet, and the zucchini and eggplant on another, so nobody gets crowded. Coat generously in olive oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands to give a gentle toss to coat the veggies evenly. If you like, you can also line your cookie sheets with heavy duty foil first--anyone who knows me will tell you I hate doing dishes and will avoid them if possible!
4. Pop the cookie sheets in the oven. The veggies will need about half an hour to roast. Be sure to check them halfway, turning over with a spatula if necessary. You will know they are ready when they are fork-tender, or when the skin of the peppers begins to pucker.
5. While your other veggies are doing their thing, heat some olive oil in the skillet and chop up your onion. Place the onions in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and let them saute on medium heat for a couple minutes, then add as much minced garlic as you like. I like a lot.
6. Continue cooking the onions and garlic on medium heat until the onions are translucent and golden in color. You will know they are done when the kitchen is smelling heavenly, and when they look like this:

7. Once all the veggies are ready to go, mix them all together in your stew pot. Add the tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar, then a handful of chopped fresh basil and about a tablespoon of herbs. Salt and pepper to taste.
8. If there's time, let the whole thing simmer on low heat for 20 minutes or so. If not, it will still taste awesome!

I like to eat ratatouille either on its own, over mashed Yukon gold potatoes, or over whole grain pasta. Any option is hearty and delicious.

Well, that's my recipe for ratatouille. Eat up and bon appetit!