Fall in New York City is full of inspiration when it comes to cooking. The markets are flooded with the most wonderful produce, from tomatoes, chard and capsicums (bell peppers) through to apples, pomegranates and figs. Here in New York, pumpkins and winter squash are spilling out onto the sidewalks of grocery stores in a vast array of oranges and yellows, and what a lovely site it is.
I went to the local market this morning and came home with the best of this seasonal produce, and realized I had all the makings for a good ratatouille. Ratatouille (a traditional French provincial dish of vegetables) is something I have been making for a long time – I was introduced to it by a girl I went to school with in my very young years and marveled at the fact that someone could make eggplant taste so good.
Whilst I was growing up my parents had an enormous vegetable garden filled with the standard tomatoes, corn, carrots and potatoes. In an effort to expand their veggie repertoire they ventured into the unknown territory of eggplants, artichokes and a variety of other vegetables that were not so common in those days. And between you and me, not very many people knew how to use them. In fact the eggplant dishes that we made were so terrible that we took to shooting the perfectly purple vegetables with our bows and arrows. ‘We are not too sure what has happened to them’ we would say to our dad who was wondering why his precious eggplants were rotting on the vines. It was a conspiracy but we had no alternative – the thought of it on our dinner table again was too much.
Now I love eggplant and my mum has some wonderful recipes, ratatouille being one of them. I love its delicious and rustic flavours and the colours that the ingredients bring to the dish, the reds, purples, oranges and yellows.
So, is eggplant the new black? That is something that I am not 100% sure of but tonight in my kitchen it most certainly is.
4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
3 tomatoes, blanched and skin removed, roughly chopped
2 red onions, roughly chopped
2 zucchinis (courgete), roughly chopped
2 small yellow squash, roughly chopped
1 large eggplant, roughly chopped
1 red capsicum (red pepper), roughly chopped
1 green capsicum, (green pepper), roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
A handful of Italian parsley
Salt to flavour
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add all ingredients, except the garlic and parsley, and cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook (uncovered again) for a further 20 minutes until the vegetables are very soft. Season to taste and scatter with Italian parsley.
Notes: Ratatouille is delicious hot or cold. It can be served as a side dish with grilled meats or as a meal on its own with some crusty bread or couscous.
Source: Adapted from A Cooks Companion – Stephanie Alexander
© 2010, Michelle. All rights reserved.
