Ratatouille Monte Cristo Recipes

CLASSIC RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Prep your ingredients before you start - peel and cut the onions into wedges, then peel and finely slice the garlic. Trim the aubergines and courgettes, deseed the peppers and chop into 2.5cm chunks. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Pick the basil leaves and set aside, then finely slice the stalks.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan or saucepan over a medium heat, add the chopped aubergines, courgettes and peppers (you may need to do this in batches) and fry for around 5 minutes, or until golden and softened, but not cooked through. Spoon the cooked veg into a large bowl.
• To the pan, add the onion, garlic, basil stalks and thyme leaves with another drizzle of oil, if needed. Fry for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened and golden.
• Return the cooked veg to the pan and stir in the fresh and tinned tomatoes, the balsamic and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
• Mix well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Cover the pan and simmer over a low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, or until reduced, sticky and sweet.
• Tear in the basil leaves, finely grate in the lemon zest and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Serve with a hunk of bread or steamed rice.

MONTE CRISTO

Steps:

• Preheat a griddle and deep fryer to 350 degrees F.
• Butter the griddle. Dunk the Texas toast on both sides in the French Toast Custard and grill until golden brown. Flip and add 1 slice Swiss cheese to each slice of toast. Then add 3 ounces ham on top of 6 of the toast slices, then top the ham with another slice of Swiss cheese. Top each ham and cheese toast with a cheese only toast, to form 6 sandwiches. Cook until the cheese melts, then remove from griddle and cool. Dunk the cooled sandwiches in the pancake batter until fully covered and put into the fryer. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 8 minutes. Serve with the Strawberry-Rhubarb Syrup.
• Beat the eggs well, then add the sugar and mix until emulsified and all the sugar has dissolved. Add the milk and vanilla and whisk until combined.
• Add the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and maple syrup to a saucepot. Place over medium heat and cook until fruit is soft, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly, then carefully puree with a hand blender.

CLASSIC MONTE CRISTO

Steps:

• Spread mustard over one side of each bread slice; top two slices with cheese and turkey. Cover with remaining bread, mustard side down. In a shallow bowl, beat egg substitute and milk. Dip sandwiches in mixture, coating both sides., Heat a griddle coated with cooking spray; toast sandwiches until lightly browned on both sides. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve with apple butter.

MONTE CRISTOS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, salad dressing and Dijon mustard; spread over 1 side of each slice of bread. On 4 slices, layer the turkey, ham and Swiss cheese; top with remaining bread. In a shallow bowl, combine the eggs, cream and ground mustard. Dip sandwiches in egg mixture., On a griddle or large skillet, melt butter. Toast sandwiches over medium heat until bread is golden brown, 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve with preserves.

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Cook and stir until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
• Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

TURKEY-CRANBERRY MONTE CRISTO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Spread 4 slices of bread with mustard. Layer with turkey and cheese. Spread remaining bread with cranberry sauce; place on cheese., In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 1-1/2 teaspoons each butter and oil over medium heat until butter is melted. Dip 2 sandwiches in egg mixture; add to skillet. Cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining butter, oil and sandwiches., Transfer sandwiches to a baking sheet. Bake until cheese is melted, 4-5 minutes.

MONTE CRISTO SANDWICH

Steps:

• Spread bread with mayonnaise and mustard. Alternate ham, Swiss and turkey slices on bread.
• Beat egg and milk in a small bowl. Coat the sandwich with the egg and milk mixture. Heat a greased skillet over medium heat, brown the sandwich on both sides. Serve hot.

MONTE CRISTO SANDWICH

Steps:

• Spread mustard on bread. Layer 4 bread slices with Swiss cheese, ham, and cheese again. Place remaining bread slices on top.
• In a shallow dish, whisk together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Dip each sandwich in the egg mixture, turning to coat well.
• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. When butter is foamy, add the sandwiches, and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes total. Serve immediately, dusted with confectioners' sugar.

RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Prepare the vegetables: Smash and peel 3 garlic cloves, reserving the 4th. Halve onions through their roots, and slice halves into 1/4-inch-thick pieces. Slice zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cut eggplant into 1-inch cubes or spears. Seed peppers, and cut them into 1/4-inch-thick strips.
• Spread each vegetable on a separate rimmed baking sheet (use extra sheets as necessary). Add the 3 cloves of smashed garlic to the onion pan. Add 1 sprig rosemary and 2 sprigs thyme to each of the pepper, eggplant and zucchini pans. Sprinkle salt lightly over vegetables. Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil on each of the pans.
• Place all the pans in the oven (or work in batches if they don't fit at once). Cook until vegetables are very tender and lightly browned at the edges. This will take about 35 to 40 minutes for the peppers (their skins should shrivel), 40 to 45 minutes for the eggplant and zucchini (the eggplant should crisp slightly and the zucchini should be well cooked, so let them go 3 to 5 minutes longer than you normally might), and 60 to 65 minutes for the onions. Don't worry about the vegetables being pretty; they will meld into the ratatouille. Shake or stir the pans every 15 to 20 minutes or so, especially the onions.
• In the meantime, prepare the tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add tomatoes and blanch until the skins split, about 10 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to quickly transfer the tomatoes to a bowl filled with ice water.
• Using a paring knife, peel the cooled tomatoes (the skins should slip right off). Halve tomatoes across their equators. Set a sieve over a bowl. Working over the bowl, use your fingers to seed the tomatoes, letting the seeds catch in the sieve and the juice run into the bowl. Discard seeds but save juices. Dice tomatoes and add to the reserved juices in bowl.
• Finely grate or mince remaining garlic clove. Add garlic to tomatoes along with bay leaves and a large pinch of salt. Set aside.
• Once vegetables are done cooking, combine them on one baking sheet or a large shallow baking dish and add ingredients from tomato bowl. Toss well. Vegetables will be stacked, and that's O.K. Cover generously with olive oil, using remaining ¼ cup oil or more, and sprinkle with salt. Everything should have a good coat of oil, but should not be drowning in it. Cook at least 1 hour, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until vegetables are very tender and imbued with juices and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve warm, or let cool.

RATATOUILLE MONTE CRISTO

Steps:

• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion; cook until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add red pepper, thyme, and oregano. Add bell pepper; saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl.
• Add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet. Add egg-plant and squash; saute until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes and wine, and raise heat to medium high; cook, stirring, until liquid simmers away, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and chopped parsley. Toss with onions and peppers. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and dried herbs.
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk eggs and milk in shallow bowl; add remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle half the cheese and spread ratatouille over eight slices of bread. Cover filling with remaining cheese; close sandwiches with remaining bread.
• Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat two sandwiches, one at time, with egg batter. Place sprig of parsley on bread; saute, parsley side down, in skillet, until golden and puffy, and cheese is just starting to melt, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn; cook until golden and melted, 2 to 3 minutes. Place in oven 5 to 7 minutes so batter is cooked through and filling is hot. Repeat process. Keep sandwiches warm in oven.