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Ratatouille with an update- the vegetables are all cooked individually so that they maintain their color and texture.
Ratatouille - do you like it? It's never been a favorite dish here at The Café. Why? The reason was summed up perfectly in a comment from a blogging friend in response to my last post where I shared a photo of both the beautiful raw ingredients used in Ratatouille and my version of the finished dish. I promised to share the recipe today, with a new twist that I learned at my recent French Cooking Boot Camp held at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
The comment went like this- "that is the freshest most colorful ratatouille I have ever seen! I usually shy away from it because it seems like an overcooked mess, but I will definitely try your recipe, Chris"! Sue, my friend from The View From Great Island (if you haven't seen Sue's blog, be sure to check it out, it's one of my favorites!) hit the nail on the head. To me, the ingredients for Ratatouille are fresh and delightful, but the final result usually leaves a lot to be desired. So when I saw Ratatouille as one of my cooking assignments for Boot Camp, I was a bit disappointed.
I was intrigued when Chef Bruno, our Boot Camp instructor said that he felt the same way about Ratatouille, but went on to share a technique to combat the traditional soggy results. He explained that he cooked the vegetables individually to the perfect texture, then waited to combine them till the last minute, keeping them fresh and vibrant. I tried his technique at school and loved it. I made it again when I got home, adding a few ideas of my own.
I made a yummy sauce with olive oil, garlic, shallots, Herbes de Provence and canned tomato puree. I simmered it slowly to thicken while I cooked the veggies and added a shower of fresh basil at the end. Instead of adding the veggies to the sauce (as in Chef Bruno's recipe), I layered them separately on top of angel hair pasta, adding tiny fresh tomatoes and Kalamata olives. A garnish of a few arugula leaves on the top made for a lovely presentation, nothing like the traditional "overcooked mess". I have the feeling that this fresh, delicious Ratatouille will be on the menu quite frequently here at The Café!
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Ratatouille - Deconstructed
Ingredients
Ingredients for the sauce:
- 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium shallots, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ÂĽ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ÂĽ cup fresh basil
Ingredients for the veggies:
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 3 medium zucchini, cut into ÂĽ" dice
- 3 med bell peppers, cut into ÂĽ" dice
- 1 medium eggplants, aubergine, cut into ÂĽ" dice
- ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 1 cup fresh cherry or grape tomatoes, red or yellow, sliced in halves
Instructions
Directions for the sauce:
- Heat oil in a medium-size pot over medium heat. Add shallots, stir and allow to soften for 3-4 minutes. Add Herbes de Provence and garlic and continue to cook for another minute.
- Add tomato puree, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer till thick and fragrant, about 45 minutes. Add fresh basil, taste and add more salt and pepper as needed
Directions for the veggies:
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium high heat till hot but not smoking. Add chopped zucchini, stir and sauté until tender-crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Don't let it get soft and mushy.  Remove from pan and set aside.
- Repeat step 1 with peppers and eggplant in separate batches. Use 2 tablespoons of oil for the eggplant. If it looks too dry while cooking add a bit more. Eggplant tends to soak up a lot of oil so sometimes I add a bit of chicken broth or white wine instead of extra oil to keep the fat level lower.
- Combine all of the veggies. Add olives and fresh tomatoes. At this point, you can either combine the sauce with the vegetables and serve as a ragout or keep the veggies and sauce separate. Serve over pasta rice or polenta. Another idea is to serve as a sauce over grilled chicken.
Notes
Note: I love to garnish this Ratatouille with fresh herbs or a few sprigs of arugula. Sometimes I sprinkle a little Feta cheese over the top for a bit of delicious saltiness.
Nutrition
Calories: 190kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 3gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 383mgPotassium: 636mgFiber: 5gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 2395IUVitamin C: 99.9mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1.5mg
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Loved this receipe and I am not normally a fan of eggplant. I also added the fetta cheese which was a great suggestion. I am not sure if you are aware that the tomato paste is not listed under the ingredients in the print out receipe. I ended up adding a tin of tomatoes and 2tbls tomato paste but when I checked the receipe again after I made it noticed you had mentioned a tin of tomato paste in your earlier comments. Keep these beautiful receipes coming, this is now my favourite site.
So happy you enjoy this, Sharon. I will check the recipe and correct it.
I'm totally cracking up over the fact that vegetables are all over your floor. One never knows what is in the background;)-we have those same puzzles.
I love that you all are such a great team - "Delicious" and "Beautiful". Thank your for your inspiration.
I ordered ratatouille at a restaurant recently and was disappointed - the delicious ingredients were all overcooked, as you mentioned. I much prefer your vibrant recipe!
piiiiiined!!!!! 🙂 Thank you Chris and mouse 🙂
I really like the deconstructed ratatouille. And great food photo tips. I love playing with light. And I really need to start shooting tethered. Thanks for this.
Wow, this looks crazy good! Thank you for the tips, I was one of those people who only point and shoot, then wonder why it doesn't look good :p
Hi, thanks for sharing the excellent photography and food styling tips. Very useful information cos I enjoy playing with styling and photography.
I spent lots of time clicking on my end product. LOL
All your pictures are very professional. Excellent!
Your ratatouille look delicious. Yum Yum!
Have a nice week ahead.
Awesome tips, thanks so much for sharing them. There is so much to remember. Your photos are wonderful!
You guys are awesome! Is there a book in the making?
great tips! there's so much work behind a great "simple" food photo! you've done well though, everythign looks gorgeous x
Ratatouille is one of my favourite comfort foods - even if a little soggy (hanging head in shame!) I will definitely give your technique a try and check out your sister's recipe - a verdict of 'delicious' is all the recommendation I need!
Such a very helpful post -- both about the ratatouille and the photography tips. I love cooking and sharing what I make, but getting good photos is still something I'm working on!
Madonna, thanks so much for your kind words! In answer to your question, Ratatouille is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean area of France in the region known as Provence. That's one reason I sometimes add a bit of a Mediterranean twist to mine with Kalamata olives and Feta.
Mary,
Thanks so much for taking the time to get back to me about the pork, that makes me happy that you and your guests enjoyed it!
Thank you both for the photo tips and the ratatouille recipe,Scott and Chris!! The presentation is excellent! 🙂
Chris, I was really intrigued when your instructor said France has 22 food regions. Do you know what region ratatouille originates? I have wanted to try this recipe, but I am not fond of eggplant because it soaks up so much oil. Your recipe sounds like a cure for that.
Scott, I love the idea of a toolkit. I sometimes scrabble for something to do a quick fix. Also, I have been placing my food on a table and struggling with my computer and tether. Looks like you have found the answer to my issue. Please continue to share. Thank you both so much. I have thoroughly enjoyed your adventures. I have even told my relatives about you both and they have also enjoyed your stories.
I LOOOVE this post! Great photo shooting/styling information and your Rattatouille looks perfect as a result! I think once we use tether we can't go back. It makes the whole photo shooting experience better and easier. 🙂
Totally off the subject, Chris, but I must tell you that I made your Pork Tenderloin with French lentils (they sell them in bulk at our new Whole Foods near Aspen) for a dinner party Saturday night and the meal was delicious. I served Ina's Roasted Brussel Sprouts as the side instead of Skinny Mashed Potatoes to suit a guest's dietary needs. Crusty bread, of course. I just cannot tell you how wonderful this meal was. Thank you.
Mmmmm....I agree that the final appearance of rattatouille leaves something to be desired. Yours is absolutely stunning. And thanks for all the excellent photography hints...I need to use them all!!!
Love seeing your photography set-up!
God bless you Scott! You do so much work to make the blog beautiful! I appreciate your tips and do plan to use some but goodness, I will probably never do as much as you do. Your effort really does show in every wonderful photograph. And Chris, your ratatouille is gorgeous! You give your hubby good subjects to photograph. 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your tips. I like the idea of a little kit ready to go. I'm always searching around. Luckily I have a good window in my kitchen so I don't have to move around too much but it's only good for certain shots.
The ratatouille looks fantastic. What a great idea to cook the veges separately!
Your ratatouille looks so vibrant, colorful and delicious, and your photos are superb! You're so lucky to have your talented photographer husband giving you a hand on all those professional food photos;
Thanks for sharing the helpful hints which we have learned the basics (such as lighting, and daylight) back about 2yrs ago when most of us food bloggers joined Foodbuzz, and now we've all been dropped like 'hot potatoes' since they made a huge change!
thanks for sharing your tips! Now that plate of pasta with ratatouille sure looks very attractive!
Your pictures are great! I am always surprised at how difficult it is to take pictures. It's something I haven't come close to mastering yet. Definitely looking forward to your post on using artificial light, as natural light isn't always possible to use.
I had a problem with eggplant as a kid so I never liked ratatouille. Luckily, my taste buds have evolved and grown up and so now it's a favorite (though I think I passed the dislike down to Dudette so I don't make it often). I love the idea of cooking each vegetable separately. Thanks for passing the tip along. If it ends up looking as gorgeous as yours, I'll be thrilled.
Thanks, again, to your husband for sharing more of what he learned with us. It's always fun to see ho people have their photo area set up. 🙂
Thanks for sharing the tips and the ratatouille looks so fresh and delicious!
No wonder your photos are always so beautiful. The two of you really put a lot of work into each recipe that you prepare and it definitely shows.
Love these little tips about light in photo!!!! I LOVE your ratatouille, your veggies looks alive unlike the soggy mess they often become!
Very professional! Thanks for sharing the photo tips.
I like ratatouille, but haven't managed to cook them often. Yours looks very tempting with all the fresh ingredients.
I've tried putting my kitchen creations on the floor but it is so difficult to keep the dogs and the cat out of the shot - they are always trying to eat my posts! I often stand on a stool to give a higher advantage. Love these tips - and appreciate the beautiful recipe. I loved the ratatouille recipe. I've made it once and thought it was terrific, it just took too long to make. Thanks!
So much prettier than the usual ratatouille recipes! Beautiful.