Another Title For The Peanut

This movie looks stunning on Blu Ray!  The kid loves it for Remy the rat.  I love it because it is about food and cooking.

Here's a photo of the Ratatouille recipe that is shown in the film, a real creation from a real chef, who was the food consultant for the movie.

So, of course, the recipe for this week is.....wait for it.....ratatouille!  This recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks dealing with vegetables, Marie Stone's Covent Garden Cookbook.  It makes a lot!!  But it keeps well in the frige and also freezes beautifully.

2 large Onions

2 Eggplants (in Europe they are called aubergine)

2 large Red Bell Peppers

6 young Zucchini (aka courgettes)

6 ripe Tomatoes (skinned, plunge in boiling water, then into ice water)

1 clove of garlic (or lot more if you like)

Basil, fresh or dried to taste

Olive oil as needed 

Rough chop the onions into large pieces, or slice them.  De seed the peppers and slice into strips.  Slice the tomatoes.  Chop the eggplants and the zucchini.

Heat oil in a LARGE pan, add in the onions and cook for 10 minutes.  Add in the zucchini, eggplant, peppers and garlic, cook for 30 minutes, covered.  

Now add the tomatoes and the basil.  Cook, covered, for additional 30 minutes.  Add salt to taste, if you like.  

Serve this hot or cold.  It is better eaten the next day.  It can be side dish, and goes well with grilled meats or roasted whole fish; or eaten as a vegetarian entree.  It also is good over pasta, long pasta.  

The finished dish doesn't look like the dish above, it's much more down and dirty and resembles the photo below.  The recipe can be varied.  Leave out the tomato and/or onion and add yellow squash.  Use several different colored peppers.  Add hot pepper flakes, or add a large amount of freshly cracked black pepper.  Etc., etc.