Ratatouille makes good use of harvest

We have just entered ratatouille season. Now is the time of year we can easily harvest all the necessary ingredients to prepare this elegant vegetable stew. Depending on the recipe you choose, you’ll need eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, yellow squash, zucchini, garlic and onion. Traditional Mediterranean spices complete the dish, which has its origins in the Provence region of France.

The key debate about ratatouille is how to make it. Purists insist that each vegetable must be separately prepared: roasted or browned individually before everything is combined, tossed with fragrant herbs and baked.

Julia Child’s approach is to sauté the eggplant and zucchini separately, then set them aside to make a tomato-onion compote used as a sauce. Her assembly entails alternating layers of vegetables with the sauce and baking the dish to delicious tenderness.

Thomas Keller of French Laundry offers a contemporary twist by slicing all the vegetables into paper-thin rounds and arranging them in overlapping circles on a spicy mixture of roasted red pepper and tomato. The layered vegetables are seasoned with fresh herbs and baked. As each slice of this almost-pie is served, it’s drizzled with a lush vinaigrette.

My approach is not nearly as complicated. I select the vegetables I like, which means there’ll be no green peppers or yellow squash in my ratatouille (ever). Forget about cooking each ingredient separately and taking them out of the skillet to cook the next one.

Instead, I start with the vegetables that need the longest time to soften: onion and eggplant (unless you have the beautiful white baby eggplants that don’t even require peeling like their large purple cousins). While these sauté in olive oil, I chop the tomatoes and zucchini.

After tossing in the last of the vegetables, I chop parsley or marjoram (or turn to the dried-spice cupboard, if absolutely necessary). Once the herbs are added, the pan is moved to the oven and baked into a meltingly delicious stew.

I haven’t included Julia Child’s recipe here, as it’s available online and in her book, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Thomas Keller’s recipe for ratatouille is also posted on several websites, including those associated with the film of the same name about Remy, the aspiring chef who happens to be a rat.

One of the best things about ratatouille is its forgiving nature - it doesn’t care if you leave out green pepper or stir in capers (my favorite addition). You can serve ratatouille hot as a main course, sprinkled with shaved Parmesan cheese. It’s great as a room temperature side dish with grilled meat or a wedge of quiche. Try ratatouille for breakfast or lunch as a savory filling for crepes or an omelette.

And, when your pot of ratatouille is empty, you can return to the market for ingredients while they’re still in abundant supply.

Easy Ratatouille

2 T olive oil
2 chopped onions
2 pressed garlic cloves
1 eggplant, peeled & chopped
1 zucchini, trimmed & chopped
6 tomatoes, chopped with juice
2 T chopped parsley
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig rosemary
2 T capers, drained
salt & pepper, to taste
6 shredded basil leaves (optional)
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 F. Heat the olive oil over medium low in a Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté another minute. Add eggplant and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and tomatoes with their juices. Stir in parsley; toss in thyme and rosemary sprigs. Cover pan with foil and then with the lid. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove lid and foil; bake another 30 minutes for sauce to thicken. Remove herb sprigs and discard. Stir in capers and adjust seasoning. To serve, garnish with shredded basil and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Send comments, questions or recipe ideas to capeflavors@comcast.net.