Ra Ta Da! Ratatouille!

I wrote this post a while back and just realized that I never published it. As I re-read it I realized it very much fit in with the food challenge I have been doing lately....take what you have and make it work!

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I really like ratatouille…and though the movie is cute, I was in this case referring to the word and my version of the dish.

In case French cooking is not your biggest strength I have included the definition according to my “Food Lover’s Companion” (which by the way is one of my most favorite books):

Ratatouille is “a popular dish from the French region of Provence that combines eggplant, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, garlic and herbs –all simmered in olive oil. The vegetables can vary according to the cook. They can be cooked together, or cooked separately and then combined and heated briefly together. Ratatouille can be served hot, cold or at room temperature, either as a side dish or as an appetizer with bread or crackers.”

On a whim, a couple of weeks ago, I went to the farmer’s market in Brenham, TX looking for something I could pick up and make into a surprise lunch at my mom’s house 15 minutes down the road in Chappell Hill. The market was not a large one, nor was it as impressive as I was led to believe on their website but it nonetheless had a handful of ingredients that caught my attention.

There was a clearance bin with eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini and tomato so I bought a handful of these items. I supplemented with a loaf of bread and some fresh eggs and headed to my mom.

Though I guess I did not originally have Ratatouille in mind when I went to the market, the items I did find lent themselves perfectly to just that. ….or a spin off of the traditional one.

I cut the vegetables in uniform small dice and sautéed them in a generous drizzle of good olive oil. I seasoned with some salt and fresh ground pepper, and a little bit of dried oregano and basil. I let the vegetable cook away in their own juices until soft and tender and until the flavors were nicely melded together. Served atop thin slices of bread this ratatouille turned out to be the perfect filling lunch.

I made another ratatouille "light” one evening for dinner where the only vegetable I had on hand was a yellow squash that was about to call it quits and maybe a table spoon or so of medium strength salsa. This, however, was no reason not to replicate the dish. I peeled and small diced the squash and sautéed it in some oil. I added the salsa, a hint of salt and pepper and a little bit of oregano and basil and tossed it all together. The result was a perfect topping for some day-old white bread which I brushed with garlic and butter and toasted in the oven. Though the ratatouille was lacking both this and that, it had the soft slightly sweet squash, the tartness of a little bit of tomato with a hint of onions and it still had the herbs and oil that brought it all together. I guess it was a stretch to call it ratatouille but it was good no matter the name :)