I have never been interest in cooking or eating ratatouille even after the release of the highly entertaining animated movie of the same name. A medley of summer vegetable overcook to oblivion simply goes against my own sensibility never mind that this is a classic dish enjoyed by many. Oddly enough, I had the pleasure of experiencing the dish at both ends of the spectrum this week. On one end, it was a homemade version using locally-grown produce cooked long and slow to achieve a harmony of summer taste in every yielding spoonful. On the other end, it was a mass-produced buffet offering that languished at the steaming table yet the vegetable chunks were squeaky tough and tart enough to make my face all scrounged up. The massive divide between the good and the bad made me realize why some people have such strong prejudice against certain dishes if they’ve only come to know the dish by the worst of the worst interpretation.
| There is no need for me to elaborate on the buffet victim so let’s just focus on this heavenly version I adapted from Ottolenghi’s Plenty. The recipe is titled Tamara’s Ratatouille and there are a number of dishes in Ottolenghi’s cookbooks under her credit. Similar to most dishes in Plenty, there is a long list of ingredients to prepare but they are key to a complex layering of flavours in the final dish. I like how in the head notes, Ottolenghi made it clear that ratatouille is all about overcooking the vegetable. In addition to the traditional trio of eggplant, zucchini, and tomato, there are also sweet bell pepper, green bean, new potato, onion, garlic, and jalapeno for a bit of heat. Vegetables were sautéed and browned before a long simmer in white wine and water. As if that is not enough cooking, they were baked in the oven until most of the broth evaporated leaving behind a concentrated essence of summer vegetable. I would like to point out the absence of herbs or spices in this dish. This vegan ratatouille is all about drawing the sweetest taste from vegetable through long cooking. It is bold enough to stand all by itself. I enjoyed it warm with some crusty bread and could not imagine a more satisfying yet light dish for a late summer meal. Cooking this ratatouille was a feast for the eyes every step of the way. I love the orderly mise en place in a rainbow of colour. However, it was even prettier when ingredients were cooked in batches of matching colour scheme. |    |
Lately I’ve been getting behind on using up all the vegetable at home. Making this ratatouille conveniently freed up an incredible amount of real estate in my fridge. Not bad for such a tasty and pretty dish.
