Provencal Ratatouille Recipes

PROVENCAL RATATOUILLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preparation of the peppers: Cut the red and green peppers into thin sections after having seeded them, without removing the skin. Blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes to make them more digestible. Remove from the water when slightly softened. Drain water over a colander.
• Meanwhile, trim the eggplants into cubes with their skin. First cut them in the direction of their length, then cut perpendicularly to get dice.
• Peel and crush two garlic cloves.
• Wash and chop the parsley.
• Lightly heat half a cup of olive oil in a skillet. (Preferably a Provencal olive oil!)
• When the pan is hot but not too hot (because the olive oil loses its beneficial qualities if it's burnt), sauté the aubergines with garlic and a large handful of parsley.
• Stir occasionally.
• Preparation of the tomatoes: Score the bottom of the tomatoes. Dip the tomatoes in boiling water for about 3-5 minutes for ease of peeling the skin.
• Wait until they cool to cut and seed them. You can fry the tomatoes with peppers or separately, still with olive oil and garlic. Stir occasionally.
• Slice the onions.
• In another pan, brown the onions with two tablespoons of olive oil, then add the peppers. After about 10 minutes, or as soon as the peppers have softened, add the tomatoes. Stir often to prevent vegetables from clinging to the bottom of the pan.
• Remember to check the eggplant, which should brown a little on the flesh side. Remove the eggplant from the heat once it begins to brown.
• Preparation of zucchini: Cut zucchini into cubes. Prepare two cloves of garlic again, and chop parsley.
• Brown zucchini cubes in a skillet over medium heat in the preheated olive oil. You can use a little less oil than for eggplant.
• Add the pressed garlic, and a good handful of chopped parsley. Stir often. Add a spoon of olive oil to the zucchini if necessary.
• When the zucchini is browned, season with salt and pepper.
• Stop cooking already cooked vegetables, and drain juices. Watch the others as they must not be crisp.
• Bake the ratatouille: When all the vegetables are cooked and drained, mix them in a casserole dish.
• Add thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
• Adjust the seasoning according to your taste.
• Cover and simmer in the oven (150C or 300F) for at least two hours (minimum). Stir occasionally.
• Serve and enjoy!

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.