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Ratatouille takes advantage of the best of fresh summer vegetables, and in this version it’s a snap to have a French classic – simply!
Ratatouille is an absolute classic – and for good reason! The freshest summer vegetables are usually simmered together with basil for a delectable French country treat.The first time I made this I literally picked everything out of my mother’s garden and had this within an hour. Now I hit the farmer’s market for my veggies, and I’ve since adapted my recipe to take advantage of the oven by roasting the vegetables. Eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes go on a baking sheet with olive oil. The result is a more flavorful, fresher tasting finished dish. Serve this with simple pasta for a quick, fresh, vegetarian main dish.
ratatouille
Walter: Now yesterday, folks, I showed a chicken that’s just a little bit spicy and good for a picnic, and Jan today has something that would be ideal with that chicken.
Jan: Oh it would because this stuff is delicious, fresh, hot, roasted out of the oven, and it’s also great room temperature.
Walter: We love it room temperature. And you do it differently from what I’ve ever done it.
Jan: I do it a little bit differently. This is a classic ratatouille with a twist.
Walter: Okay.
Jan: I call it my ratatouille five by five, and that ‘s one of my easy ways to remember how we like it best.
Walter: Okay.
Jan: I start with some eggplant, and I cube it up not too tiny, but a little.
Walter: Right and salted it.
Jan: Sprinkle a little salt, and then right into the strainer and the sieve.
Walter: What happens when you do that is you get rid of all this ugly stuff that’s in the eggplant, which includes the bitter taste.
Jan: That’s right. That’s what makes it bitter, and that’s what gives it that . . . if you’ve got a little tinny eggplant, you don’t have to do that, but this was a little bit bigger.
Walter: Okay.
Jan: All right. So next what I’m going to do, and I’ve got a preheated 425 degree oven back here.
Walter: Right.
Jan: Little bit of tomato. I first discovered this, I literally the first time I made it, I picked the vegetables fresh out of my mother’s garden and walked it in the door and I had ratatouille within about 40 minutes.
Walter: Yeah.
Jan: So little bit of red onion. I think I had a whole one, but it wasn’t a very big one. So this is where we’re going to start with our first vegetables. We’re holding out two more.
Walter: Okay.
Jan: A little bit of olive oil, and that’s a classic signature of this dish.
Walter: Right.
Jan: So I’m using a good bit, but that olive oil, once the vegetables have roasted — oh, I’m giving you something oily — it is absolutely delicious. So that’s what your crusty bread is going to be for.
Walter: Okay.
Jan: A little sprinkle of salt. Okay. Normally what I would do at this point is roast this for 10 minutes and then add the other vegetables, but we’re going to fake it a little bit.
Walter: Right.
Jan: So zucchini, one small zucchini. Now we’re still trying to use them up.
Walter: Yeah.
Jan: And a yellow pepper. You can use any pepper you like. If you’ve got green use it. Red, orange, whatever pepper. And garlic, and look at the amount of garlic.
Walter: That’s translated as a lot.
Jan: That’s right. My daughter chose how much garlic we’re using. She loves it.
Walter: All right.
Jan: She did the chopping, so we’re going to let her have it.
Walter: All right.
Jan: All right. So this roasts, usually when I start it, 10 minutes at first, another 15. All done. All right.
Walter: Okay.
Jan: So when it comes out, we have this.
Walter: Okay.
Jan: And it’s almost finished at this point. What I’m going to do is plate it up a little bit, and then the last two things we’re going to do, a little bit of fresh parsley and a little bit of fresh basil.
Walter: And you’re ready to go.
Jan: And you are ready to go.
Walter: That is fabulous. Now, Jan, we’re going to have to tell them how to get the recipe.
Jan: Okay. You go right ahead.
Walter: Write to Chef’s Recipe, 6450 Papermill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37919, sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope, or go to the website at Local8Now.com and you’ll find out how to make this absolutely fantastic ratatouille. I know, I’ve already tasted it.
Jan: It is good.
Walter: It’s good.
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