Ratatouille Provencale Recipes

REMY'S RATATOUILLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Line a baking sheet with foil.
• Place pepper halves on the baking sheet, cut side down.
• Roast until the skins loosen, about 15-20 minutes.
• Remove the peppers from the oven and let rest until cool enough to handle.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 275°F.
• Peel the peppers and discard the skins.
• Finely chop the peppers, then set aside.
• In medium skillet over low heat, sauté onion in oil until very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, their juices, thyme, parsley and bay leaf.
• Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook until very soft and little liquid remains, about 10 minutes. Do not brown.
• Add the peppers and simmer to soften them.
• Discard the herbs, then season to taste with salt.
• Reserve a tablespoon of the mixture, then spread the remainder over the bottom of a 10-inch oven-proof skillet (the bottom should be 8 inches).
• Arrange the sliced zucchini, eggplant, squash and tomatoes over the bell pepper mixture in the skillet.
• Begin by arranging 12 alternating slices of vegetables in a pinwheel in the center, overlapping them so that 1/4 inch of each slice is exposed. This will be the center of the spiral.
• Around the center strip, overlap the vegetables in a close spiral that lets slices mound slightly toward center.
• You should have 5 concentric rings of vegetables.
• Set aside. (All vegetables may not be needed - you can use the rest for a frittata.)
• Drizzle the vegetables with 2-3 teaspoons olive oil, then sprinkle with thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper.
• Cover the skillet with foil (I followed Keller's directions and not Remy's - he used parchment!) and crimp edges to seal well.
• Bake until the vegetables are tender, about 2 hours.
• Uncover and bake for another 30 minutes. (Lightly cover with foil if it starts to brown.)
• If there is excess liquid in pan, place it over medium heat on stove until reduced.
• (At this point it may be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Serve room temperature or reheat in 350°F oven.)
• In a small bowl whisk together the reserved tablespoon bell pepper mixture, oil, vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve, heat the broiler and place skillet under it until lightly browned.
• Slice in quarters and lift very carefully onto plate with an offset spatula.
• Turn spatula 90 degrees as you set the food down, gently fanning the food into fan shape.
• Drizzle the vinaigrette around plate. Use the crema balsamica to decorate the rim.

RATATOUILLE PROVENCALE

Steps:

• Pour olive oil into a large pot over high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Reduce heat and add tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini, tomato puree, herbes de Provence, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and check the level of liquid in the pot. Continue cooking for 30 minutes, uncovered if there is too much liquid, or covered if the amount of liquid looks right.

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.