Ratatouille

I have been dreaming - obsessing - over Provence lately. I have been researching the price of vacation cottages, looking at plane tickets. I mean, I live in Germany...its not that far right? What was that about a budget again? Oh right. See, summer is ending; Christmas is looming menacingly on the horizon; we just went through a big move (make that 2 big moves in the past year); we have already taken 2 vacations this year and have another coming up in November (Istanbul!!)...um, yeah. I think my wistful holiday picking lavender and drinking wine in Provence is going to have to be put on hold for now (insert eye roll directed at myself here).

But that doesn't mean I can't have a little taste of it right here at home. The markets are full of dirt cheap Zucchini, Eggplant and tomatoes that are sure to disappear in the coming weeks. Eating on a (extremely tight) budget means I like dishes that use those inexpensive in-season veggies, makes a ton, and is delicious to eat as leftovers. Ratatouille is the perfect dish.

This is a dish that requires a bit of prep. I mean, normally when a recipe tells me to do something as silly as peel the eggplant I laugh and say "no thanks". However, this was my first time making this classic so I did (almost) exactly as I was told and I do not regret it at all. It is delicious, rich, smooth and will make lovers out of any vegetable hater you serve it too. Promise. Its really a very simple dish, all the slicing and basting aside, and the flavor of all the vegetables come together in a way that is simply sublime. Oh, and guess how much this cost? Just guess. A whopping 3 euros.

I found this to be a very forgiving and flexible recipe. You can make several hours or a day ahead, and while its fun to get everything just right - if you slice the veggies different, or under cook the zucchini (like I did) - well, it still tastes just as good (no food snobbery around here). Now that I have made it once, I will have fun playing with different ingredients and flavors as I try this again and again (oh, yes, this will be eaten many more times at this house).

We enjoyed plain as a main course with a glass of wine and some nice music on the patio while fantasizing about our vacation in the South of France; but I can imagine cooking this up on a Saturday afternoon with the fam, watching the Pixar classic by the same name, and eating with some roast lamb, or even tossed in couscous, pasta or eaten cold on sandwiches.


Ratatouille
based on this recipe by Julia Child

1/2 pound eggplant
1/2 pound zucchini, trimmed
salt/pepper
Olive oil
1 8-ounce onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced into strips
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 pound firm but ripe tomatoes, seeded, cut into thick strips
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1 or 2 tablespoons thyme

Peel eggplant; cut lengthwise into slices, then cut into 3-inch-long, 1-inch-wide strips. Cut zucchini into same size strips. Place vegetables in a separate bowl or colander; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain; dry with paper towels.

Preheat oven to 425 F / 204 C. In a small shallow pan, toss eggplant with a bit of olive oil and roast in oven until starting to brown - around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, working in batches, add zucchini to a heated skillet with olive oil; sauté until light golden, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to plate; reserve.

Add a bit more oil to skillet; heat over medium heat. Add onion and peppers; sauté until just tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in garlic. Season with salt and pepper.

Place tomato strips atop onion-pepper mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover skillet; cook over low heat until tomatoes begin to juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover; baste vegetables in skillet with juices. Boil until juices are almost evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer 1/3 of onion-pepper-tomato mixture to 2 1/2-quart pot; sprinkle with a bit of the parsley, basil and thyme. Top with half of eggplant and half of zucchini, then remaining onion-pepper-tomato mixture; sprinkle with herbs. Layer remaining eggplant and zucchini over; sprinkle with a bit more of the herbs. Cover; simmer over low heat 10 minutes.

Uncover; tilt pot and baste with accumulated juices. Pour a bit of red wine over the whole pot (not too much - a glug or two). Increase heat to medium; simmer uncovered, basting several times with pan juices until only 2 to 3 tablespoons juices remain in pot, watching closely to avoid scorching, anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes longer (I had a lot of juice and this phase took awhile). Season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm with baguette.

French Lentil Soup

I go through phases with my cooking - I will be inspired by something and find myself cooking with those flavors or methods over and over (last week it was Cucumbers and Afternoon Tea that had me inspired...as you can tell). Something about late summer, a few cool rainy days, and watching the movie Ratatouille had me wanting to cook warm hearty dishes with rustic French flavors (and hmmm...maybe even some Ratatouille in the coming days?). This soup satisfied that craving perfectly. The balsamic vinegar gave the broth a deep richness and the vegetables and lentils filled us up perfectly. We sopped up the extra broth in the bowl with big crusty whole wheat rolls. The perfect meal for a rainy day.

Like most people, we are always trying to eat on a budget. Eating on a budget can sometimes feel limiting and boring - but it definitely doesn't have to. Really, when you try to eat real food made from scratch - most food doesn't actually cost that much (especially if you try to use meat as a condiment instead of the main event - or hey, maybe even not at all). Some ingredients are a real bargain - and when you dress them up with herbs, spices and in-season vegetables they can offer endless variety and deeply satisfying meals.

Lentils are one of those wonderful ingredients. A little bit goes a really long way and like pasta and rice, they can serve as a backdrop for almost anything while still being an integral part of the dish. I think all total (not including the things already in my pantry like Olive Oil and Balsamic vinegar and spices) this soup cost a total of around 3 euros and gave us 4 very large main-course servings.


French Lentil Soup
1 cup French Lentils (or Masoor lentils - in fact I often find Masoor lentils labeled as French lentils here; even though they are different colors they have similar properties when cooked. Here is a good primer on different kinds of lentils - with pictures.)
4 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
5 gloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tomatoes, chopped (between 1/2 to 1 cup)
1/2 eggplant, diced (about 1 1/2 cups) and drizzled with lemon juice
1 1/2 tbs dried herbs de Provence (thyme, basil, savory, rosemary, lavender, fennel if you have fresh)
salt and pepper
3 tbs olive oil
2 dried bay leaves
4 tbs (roughly - start there and add to taste) balsamic vinegar
Juice from 1/2 lemon ( a few tbs)

Heat olive oil in the bottom of a heavy soup pot (4 to 5 qt) over moderately high heat. Add chopped onion, season with salt, and saute until starting to turn golden - around 5 minutes. Add eggplant and carrots and garlic and herbs and toss in oil. Saute another 3 to 4 minutes or until eggplant is starting to soften.

Add tomatoes and lemon juice and saute another minute or so more. Add lentils and stir into the oil and veggies. Add veggie broth, water, bay leaves and balsamic vinegar. Taste the broth and season as needed with salt and fresh ground black pepper (I did around 6 turns on the grinder). Bring to a boil then reduce heat slightly and let simmer, uncovered until soup thickens and lentils have softened - around 30 minutes.

Serve warm with some crusty bread and good wine :)

Tomato & Eggplant Galette

I have been wanting to make one of these little beauties for awhile - and I decided nothing sounded better then the buttery, flaky crust wrapped around farm fresh eggplant and tomatoes. The crust is just a simple pie crust and yet is so divine - oozing with butter, flaky and crisp. However feel free to substitute your favorite pie crust - anything will do.

But really - the true star of this dish is the positively amazing red onion confit - sweet red onions caramelized and cooked with sugar and balsamic vinegar into a gooey spread. It gives a deep richness to this galette that leaves you intensely satisfied.

This will easily serve 6 to 8 servings and can work well as either your main course or as a bring-along to a buffet or pot luck.

Tomato & Eggplant Galette
1 very large Brandywine (or similar) tomato, sliced thin
2 small very ripe roma tomatoes (or similar), sliced thick
1 medium eggplant, sliced thin and drizzled with a few tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
2 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
pinch coarse sea salt

For the Red Onion Confit:
2 large Red Onions, diced
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
dash salt

For the Crust:
2 cups Flour
10 Tbs cold butter
1/4 tsp salt
6 (give or take) Tbs ice water

First make the pie crust. Place flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Cut the (very cold) butter into small chunks and add to the flour.

With 2 knives (or a pastry blender) cut the butter into the flour until it has a coarse grainy texture. Drop ice water into the mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring it in with a fork as you go. Once the dough has a good constancy form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge. You can do this a day or two ahead of time (or longer and keep it in the freezer).

Next, make the Red Onion Confit. Saute the onions in the butter until onions are very soft and just beginning to brown slightly. Add the sugar, reduce heat slightly, and cook for around 15 minutes - until sugar is all dissolved and onions are getting pretty caramelized.

Add the balsamic and raise heat again (just a touch). Cook, stirring frequently, until it becomes a thick sticky texture - around 15 or 20 minutes. Add a pinch or 2 of salt. Remove from heat and let cool completely. This step can also be done a day or two in advance and kept in the fridge.

Finally its time to put the whole thing together. Preheat your oven to 400 F (204 C).

On a floured surface roll out the dough into a large circle. Cover a baking sheet or pizza stone with parchment paper and transfer the dough to the papered surface.

Spread some of the confit in a 9 inch circle in the center of the dough (you probably won't need all of it -just add to taste. The rest keeps quite well in the fridge and tastes great on burgers, steaks etc as well).

Sprinkle with the chopped rosemary (reserve just a bit). Layer the eggplant slices and large tomato slices, slightly overlapping. In a smaller circle in the center layer the small roma tomato slices.

Fold the dough up around the filling, folding it slightly as you go (wet your fingers and the dough if necessary to make it stick). Sprinkle the dough edges with the course salt, then sprinkle the whole thing with the Parmesan cheese. Top with a pinch of chopped herbs.

Cook for around 40 to 50 minutes or until the crust is nice and browning and cooked all the way through. Just a note - I found the butter tends to ooze and drip from the crust and can make a mess of your oven, so plan accordingly :)

Serve immediately while nice and warm.