Classic French Ratatouille

September starts in one more day - where has the summer gone. It’s been a good year in the garden, zucchini and patty pan squash are prolific, we’re eating okra at least once a week, and we are now into tomato season. We've eaten so many tomato and mayo sandwiches, which is perfectly fine, and of course, there is sauce to be made. 

Today I am working on the 3rd batch of roasted sauce, and there are still a lot of tomatoes on the vine. Batches one and two are in the freezer waiting until it's cooler to be part of chili, lasagne, or soup. 

One of my favorite ways to use up the zucchini, tomato, and eggplant harvest is to make ratatouille. There are many ways to make it; you can chop and make it like a stew or roast it but my favorite is the traditional layered method. Not only is it pretty, but the flavors meld in just the right way. It is time-consuming but in my opinion worth it. 

So, I chopped, sautéed, and simmered until it was done. We served it with warm ciabatta bread and a nice glass of crisp white wine. What could be better on a warm summer evening? 

Ingredients

Vegetables:

• 2 small eggplants
• 2 zucchini
• 6 tomatoes
• 2 red onions
• 1 yellow bell pepper

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 1 red pepper
• 5 cloves garlic
• salt, pepper
• ¼ tsp oregano
• ¼ tsp thyme
• 700 grams crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp fresh basil

Herb dressing:

• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3 cloves garlic
• Salt, and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Slice the vegetables evenly and set them aside. I used a mandolin slicer to keep them all uniform. 
2. Make the herb dressing: finely chop the herbs, and stir them with olive oil and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Preheat the oven to 390°F.
4. Make the tomato sauce: In a large oven-proof pan or skillet, heat some olive oil, add diced onion and pepper, and let sauté. Stir in minced garlic until fragrant. Season with salt and pepper, and add oregano and thyme. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, stir to combine, and cook on medium heat for another 10 minutes. Lastly, stir in some finely chopped basil.
5. Arrange the sliced vegetables evenly on top of the tomato sauce starting by the outer edge of the pan. Continue adding the vegetable slices in alternating patterns to the middle of the pan. Once arranged, season the vegetables with salt and pepper, and drizzle the herb dressing on top.
6. Cover the pan with foil and transfer to the preheated oven. Bake for about 40 minutes covered, then uncover the pan and bake for another 20 minutes, until the vegetables are softened and slightly charred.
7. Once baked, remove from the oven and serve hot.

Thanks for stopping by!

Okra - Delicious and not Slimy

We’re back from a week at the lake and thanks to my friend Annette and husband Don, the garden is thriving. We have tomatoes, beans, peppers (poblano and green), turnips, and okra. Okra is a favorite vegetable at our house, we often make a lovely Indian dish called Bindhi Masala - flash-fried okra with onions and spices. If you’ve not tried it you must - it’s delicious.

Okra can be tricky to prepare. It can get all slimy, which is why so many people don’t like it, and until I learned how to cook it - I hated the slime too. There are many ways to reduce the slime but my favorite are:

• Soak in a vinegar bath 
• Wash and let completely dry before you even think about cooking
• Cooking at high heat with olive oil
• Roasting at a high temp 

Last night, after returning from the lake, I knew we had to use up some of the okra - it’s very perishable and once picked needs to be used in short order. We also had a cucumber that was aging and 2 tomatoes that were pretty ripe. I had some mussels in a garlic wine sauce (from Aldi - one of the best $4.00 you will ever spend), so I chopped, sliced, marinated, and roasted the ingredients. We had marinated cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and green pepper, mussels, and garlic-roasted okra. 

Ingredients:

• 1 lb okra
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1.5 Tbsp melted plant-based butter

Instructions:

• Rinse the okra and dry it with a paper towel (at least 30 minutes, longer is better). Trim away the stem ends, and then cut into 3/4 inch pieces. Place the okra in a medium-sized mixing bowl. 

• Mix paprika, garlic powder, paprika, and salt in a small dish.

• Sprinkle the seasoning mix over the okra and then add the melted butter. Mix well

• Transfer the okra to a parchment-lined cookie sheet and spread them out evenly. 

• Bake @ 450 degrees for approximately 15 minutes.

Enjoy - thanks for stopping by!