Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

1/2 lb Egplant
1/2 lb Zucchini
1 ts Salt
3 tb Olive oil
1/2 lb Onions, thinly sliced
2 ea Green peppers, sliced
2 ea Cloves garlic, mashed
3 tb Olive oil
Salt pepper to taste
1 lb Ripe tomatoes
Salt pepper
3 tb Parsley

NB. This ratatouille recipe is the only one I know in which the
vegetables all retain their own identity and don't end up in a
more-or-less anonymous mush. The disadvantage is that it is a lot of
trouble to prepare. Try it none-the-less in the early autumn, when
the ingredients are all reasonable in price and at their best. Don't
bother with watery orange tomatoes and glasshouse grown peppers
aubergines.

Peel the eggplants and wipe the zucchinis. Remove the ends then cut
into 3/8" (1cm) thick slices. The slices should be taken engthwise
and end up about 1" by 3" (2.5 x 8 cms). Place the vegetables in a
bowl and toss with the salt - you can use a little more if you feel
like it. Turn into a colander and layer evenly placing a weighted
plate on top. Leave 30 minutes to drain.

Peel the tomatoes and halve them across. Squeeze each half to push
out the pips, and then put them cut side up in a rack or colander.
Sprinkle with salt and then turn over. Sprinkle again and leave for
about half an hour. Slice them into 1/2" (1cm) strips, removing the
stems if tough. Leave aside until ready to use.

Peel and slice the onion thinly, core the green peppers and slice
them, crush the garlic. Chop the parsley.

Put the olive oil in a large frying pan. While it is heating, dry the
eggplants and zucchinis carefully with paper towels. A layer at a time
and starting with the zucchinis, fry them and the eggplants on both
sides until lightly browned - about a minute a side. When fried, keep
on a plate until needed. Add more oil if needed.

When all are fried, sweat onions with the peppers and the garlic in
the remaining oil in the same pan, adding further oil at the
beginning if needed. Cover the pan and cook about 10 minutes until
the vegetables are tender but not browned. Season to taste.

Now layer the tomatoes on top of the onion pepper mixture, and season
with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until the
tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the
tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes,
until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

Take a large fireproof casserole, and in the bottom, put 1/3 of the
tomato mixture. Sprinkle over it 1/3 of the parsley, then layer half
of the eggplants and zucchinis. Repeat with a second 1/3 of the
tomato mixture, a second third of parsley and the remaining eggplants
and zucchinis. Now cover with the remaining tomato mixture and
parsley. Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Correct seasoning, if needed. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered
for about 15 minutes longer, basting several times until the juices
have evaporated, leaving a few spoonfuls of flavoured olive oil. Be
careful of the heat, do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom
of the casserole.

Either serve, or leave to cool. Ratatouille may be served cold or
warm as a starter, or warm as an accompaniment to meat courses. If
wanted warm, reheat gently just before serving time, taking care not
to burn the vegetables.

Don't be put off by the length of this recipe. It IS a fiddle, but the
result is simply superlative. We often make the dish in double
quantities or more and sterilise in jars.

"Mastering the Art of French Cooking" Posted by Ian Hoare.

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