The best Ratatouille recipe I have ever made is Anthony Bourdain’s, which requires preparing every single ingredient separately before adding them together. If that’s what you want to make, then you should. Eggplants, mushrooms, peppers and onions can take on many forms and can be prepared in a skillet or a Dutch oven. Think about where these ingredients are grown, think about forms of cooking available, think about the local herbs and seasonings, and you have an infinite number or dinners using a handful of ingredients. These versions are best served with high quality bread, and a cheese of the region on the side.
Here are three regional versions. Each one serves 4.
ITALIAN RATATOUILLE
Ingredients:
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped Calabrian peppers
1 large eggplant, cut in long spears, salted/sweated, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 large sweet onion, sliced thin
1⁄2 pound porcini and/or portabello mushrooms, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup chopped San Marzano tomatoes
1⁄2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1⁄2 cup chopped fresh oregano
1 Meyer lemon, zested, seeded
and thinly sliced
1⁄4 red wine vinegar
Salt /pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven until shimmering. Add garlic and Calabrian peppers and sauté for 1 minute. Add eggplant, bell pepper, on- ion, mushrooms, tomatoes, basil, oregano and lemon slices. Splash with red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cover and cook in a 325° oven for 60 minutes.
Salt / pepper to taste
Spanish Ratatouille
Ingredients:
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1⁄4 cup chopped Spanish olives
1 large eggplant, cut in long spears, salted/sweated, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
6 small fingerling potatoes, thinly sliced
1 blood orange, zested and thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
Splash of sherry vinegar
Salt/pepper, to taste
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven until shimmering. Add garlic, paprika, tomato paste and olives and sauté for 1 minute. Add eggplant, onion, bell pepper, potatoes, blood orange, and parsley. Splash with sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Cover and cook in a 325° oven for 60 minutes.
French Ratatouille
INGREDIENTS:
1⁄4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons Herbs de Provence
1 large eggplant, cut in long spears, salted/sweated, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1⁄2 pound chanterelle mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup chopped thin string beans (haricot vert)
1⁄4 cup capers
1 lemon, zested, seeded and juiced
1⁄4 cup veggie stock
1⁄4 cup dry white wine
INSTRUCTIONS:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven until shimmering. Add onions, garlic, tomato paste and Herbs de Provence and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in eggplant, mushrooms, red bell pepper, string beans, and capers.
In a separate bowl, combine veggie stock, white wine and lemon juice and pour over vegetable mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and cook in a 325° oven for 60 minutes.