Ratatouille is never as good as it is right now. It’s the epitomical late-summer dish. Each ingredient is at its peak -- eggplant, peppers, basil, tomatoes, summer squash.
I became addicted to it in culinary school. While stewing all those vegetables for hours, I wondered if the French had finally screwed one up. Nay. My mouth had an epiphany. Before then, I don’t believe I’d ever experienced such a symphonic meld of beautiful flavors that somehow still allowed each ingredient its character.
Ratatouille is delicious with warm chevre on grilled bread, olives & a drizzle of reduced Balsamic vinegar. The flavors are also lovely with the quintessential summer wine - rose. Chateau Ste. Michelle 2006 Nelly’s Garden Dry Rose has a bright strawberry nose and a crisp, fruity palate that plays well with earthy things (stewed veges), grilled things, and salty things (olives), thank God. (Also, smoky things -- just so you know.)
Ratatouille
Serves 6
The smoked paprika and coriander are not classically added to this dish; I just think it gives it a little something extra.
1 small red onion
1 eggplant
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
5 tablespoons olive oil
5 pinches dried thyme
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
5/8 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
16-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 bay leaf
1 bunch fresh basil, very coarsely chopped
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
Cube each vegetable into 3/4” chunks; keep each separate.
Sprinkle eggplant with 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt & set in a colander for 10 minutes; squeeze liquid out of eggplant with a kitchen towel. Preheat oven to 300°.
Heat medium saute pan over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil, red onion, a pinch of salt and a pinch of dried thyme. Saute until golden brown and barely softened. Add 1 clove minced garlic and saute for 20 seconds, until fragrant and just beginning to color. Immediately tip mixture into a medium, oven-proof pot or casserole. Place pan back on heat; deglaze with 1/8 cup wine, scraping up all the delicious bits from the bottom of the pan; pour reduction on top of onions.
Repeat entire process with eggplant, zucchini, squash and red peppers, sauteing each independently with remaining oil, salt, thyme, and garlic, and deglazing with wine.
Return pan to heat; add coriander and paprika. Saute until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add tomato paste, continue to stir and cook for another 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and bay leaf; cook until liquid has reduced by half. Add tomato mixture to pot and stir in half the basil.
Cover pot with tight-fitting lid and place in oven; stew for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring two or three times. (At school we stewed it quite a bit longer, but Americans mostly prefer vegetables a little more on the firmer side -- it’s up to you.) Remove pot from oven, stir in remaining basil and season to taste with salt & pepper.
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