Meatless Mondays: Height-of-Summer Ratatouille

A few years ago, I realized that I didn't have a go-to ratatouille recipe. So, I began to investigate, looking up recipes in cookbooks and food blogs. Many of the recipes I found called for cooking each vegetable individually, wiping the pan out in between. Others called for baking the ratatouille rather than making it on the stove. As I pored through the recipes, I began to realize that I didn't actually want a lightly cooked ratatouille, with each vegetable maintaining its texture and individual flavor (see Smitten Kitchen for a gorgeous example). I didn't really want to turn on my oven either. What I wanted, actually, was sludge.

Not literal sludge, of course, but I wanted a savory tomato-y stew, with the flavors melded into a medley of high summer. I wanted ratatouille that I could sprinkle with Parmesan and eat over cous cous or heap onto a slice of thick bread. I wanted ratatouille that could double as a thick pasta sauce, if necessary. With summer vegetables at their height of flavor and plentiful, to boot, I didn't really want to treat them delicately, at least not right then.

The one recipe I found that seemed suitable for my purposes was in Nigella Lawson's How to Eat. This is a cookbook I tend to look through more than cook from, but no matter. What I liked about her recipe was that it didn't call for any complicated procedures. It also referenced Elizabeth David, which seemed like a good sign.

In the years since, I've continued to use Nigella's recipe as a template, but I've remained flexible about exact amounts and cooking times. The one thing that's been consistent is that I've added the vegetables one at a time to the pot, starting with the onions and ending with the tomatoes. I also probably cook it longer than Nigella recommends, since after all what I'm aiming for is my delicious vegetable sludge, which tastes even better after it's sat for a day and given the flavors time to meld.

High summer is a fleeting time, I know, but I've decided that it's long enough for several different kinds of ratatouille. I'm tempted by Deborah Madison's version, which contains caramelized onions and roasted red peppers, and by Mark Bittman's baked version (from How to Cook Everything), especially once it cools down a bit and turning the oven on won't cause the kitchen to become an inferno. In the meantime, though, I have already stowed some of my sludgy version in the basement freezer. I know it will cheer me up immeasurably once the plentiful eggplants and tomatoes in my garden are only a sweet summery memory.

(I've noticed that ratatouille is much more photogenic in its raw form (above) than cooked. Ah well.)

Ratatouille
(loosely adapted from Nigella Lawson's How to Eat)

Please note that the amounts really are flexible, depending on your taste and what's available.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, sliced
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• 1 large or 2 medium globe eggplants, sliced or cubed
  
• 4- 5 smallish zucchini and/or yellow squash, halved and sliced
  
• 3 large sweet red peppers
• 4 large tomatoes
  
• 2-6 tbsps olive oil (Nigella recommends more, but I usually don't use more than a few tablespoons)
  
• 1/2 to 1 tsp ground coriander or coriander seed (I skipped this)
• fresh basil and/or fresh parsley

Instructions

• Slice the onions into thin half-moons
• Mince garlic
  
• Chop eggplant and zucchini into slices or small chunks
  
• Cut the peppers in half, remove cores & seeds, cut into thin strips
  
• Skin tomatoes by plunging into boiled water for a few minutes & then slipping the skins off. Halve them scoop out seeds & cut into chunks (I skipped this step and just chopped the tomatoes up.)
  
• Cook in this order: onions first, then eggplant, zucchini, garlic, peppers and finally tomatoes
• Heat the oil in a thick bottomed wide pan
• Cook the onions until soft but not brown
• Add the eggplant and cook several minutes until they start to shrink down and then add the squash,
• Continue on like this with the peppers and garlic (add more oil as needed)
• Cover the pan & cook gently for 40 mins, checking to make sure the bottom isn't sticking. Stir as needed.
  
• Add the tomatoes, coriander (if using), salt & pepper
• Cook for another 30-40 minutes until all vegetables are soft but not mushy
• Stir in the basil or parsley
• Eat, preferably at room temperature. Ratatouille keeps well in the fridge for up to 5 days; it also freezes well.
  

Accidental Eggplant Parmesan

I didn't wake up last Monday thinking I'd make eggplant Parmesan. It happened much more haphazardly than that--an accidental confluence of ingredients that led me to the conclusion that eggplant Parmesan needed to be on the day's agenda.

I'd bought two glossy purple eggplants at the farmer's market on Saturday and knew I wanted to use them before the week was out. (Mondays, when I don't go to my job, are my best non-weekend cooking opportunities.) I had a quart of roasted tomato sauce in the fridge that either needed to be used or put in the freezer. And I had a hunk of smoked mozzarella left over from a recent pizza. All of a sudden it was clear that eggplant Parmesan was the thing.

I'd thought of making my beloved Eggplant and Summer Vegetable Gratin, which I've only made once this year. But as much as I love eating it, I don't always want to devote most of an afternoon to making it. Plus, I had all that sauce in the fridge, and it didn't seem to make sense to make a different sauce when the one I had would work just fine.

And so I opted for a quicker variation. One thing that made it quicker than a more traditional eggplant Parmesan is the eggplant preparation. I read several recipes that called for breading and frying the eggplants. That seemed like too much work and had too much potential for soggy, greasy eggplant slices. So, I used the technique from the gratin recipe--slicing the eggplants thickly (1/2 inch per slice, or so), brushing them with olive oil and then baking them in the oven for 25 minutes. This method saves time and oil both, and once baked, the eggplant slices are fully prepared to serve as layering material.

Once that was done, most of the work was done. I put down a layer of eggplant in the gratin dish. I spooned sauce over the eggplant. I grated the smoked mozzarella over the sauce. I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on as well. And then I did it again. There were still a few eggplant slices left, but rather than add a third layer, I made a single dish that I put in the freezer for later. I also didn't worry about the oven temperature. I was also baking yet another batch of blueberry crumble bars, and I put the eggplant in the oven at the same time. The only precaution I took was to cover it for the first 30 minutes so the cheese wouldn't get too brown.

And that was it. The smoked mozzarella is key, I think--it adds another layer of flavor to the already layered flavor of the sauce. But that's not to say not to make it if you don't have smoked mozzarella. Or roasted tomato sauce, for that matter. I can say, though, that if you use both things, you won't be disappointed.

Three signs that this dish is a keeper:

1. After eating it for lunch three days in a row, I was disappointed that there wasn't any left for lunch #4.
2. Even before the first batch was finished, I was already thinking about the next one.
3. When batch # 2 was in the oven, exactly one Monday later, I was on the phone with Alex and mentioned what I'd made. He was on his way home but promptly turned around in the bowling alley parking lot so he could be at my house in time for dinner.
   

To those I would add that I'm eying the one measly serving left from batch #2 and contemplating my cooking plans for the weekend. Let's just say I won't be surprised if there's more eggplant Parmesan in my immediate future.

Eggplant Parmesan: A Variation

2 medium-sized eggplants, about 2 lbs.
1 quart roasted tomato sauce, or other sauce
8 oz. (approx.) smoked mozzarella
grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Preheat oven to 375

Slice eggplant into 1/2 inch thick slices. Brush with olive oil on both sides and place on cookie sheets. Bake for 25 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 350.

Layer eggplant slices in a gratin dish or other large pan. Spoon tomato sauce generously over eggplant. Grate smoked mozzarella to lightly cover the sauce. Sprinkle (or grate) Parmesan cheese. Repeat for second layer.

Cover dish with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes, removing the tin foil after 30 minutes.

(As noted above, I've baked it at several different temperatures with equal success. If you're baking something else and want to stick this dish in the oven at the same time, it's flexible enough to take a slightly different temperature. Just leave the tin foil on for the first half hour so the cheese doesn't get too brown.)

Excellent served with pasta and more roasted tomato sauce.

Late Summer Bliss

I'm all for any attempt to save some of summer's bounty for later. A few years ago, I invested in a second freezer so that I could freeze multiple quarts of tomato sauce and gallon bags of blueberries for consumption in the dead of a New England winter, a reminder that summer would, eventually, return, and in the meantime, I could eat something that might take me away from snow and ice, at least momentarily and in my mind (and stomach).

But there are some dishes that shouldn't be saved for later. I'm not talking about things you can't save for later--the salad with the perfect garden tomato, the steamed ear of corn. But dishes or combos that reflect the essence of a season, and even if they could be recreated later, it just wouldn't be the same. I'd put my beloved peach-blueberry crumble in this category along with Deborah Madison's eggplant and summer vegetable gratin, from her great cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

I could write an ode to Deborah Madison--as a long-time vegetarian, I'm so grateful for her cookbooks. But I could write an ode to her just on the basis of this one recipe. Even though I've had the book for years, I somehow missed this recipe until last year. Once I made it, I became this recipe's biggest fan. On the one hand, I'm frustrated not to have had this in my late summer food repertoire for longer, but it also makes me want to make up for lost time and make it as often as possible in these weeks of late summer. It's not a hard recipe at all, and though it's slightly time-consuming, it's totally worth it.

Basically, you bake some eggplant, make a little fresh tomato sauce (I put a summer squash in it this time, since I'd snagged one from the garden before it had reached baseball bat proportions), then layer them together in a gratin dish. Bake for 45 minutes, then add a layer of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, and bake for another 25 minutes. And voila. A dish that is the essence of late summer in its rich vegetable goodness. I made a huge panful on Monday and have been eating it greedily ever since. I told Alex he could have some tonight, but now I'm regretting that invitation, just a little bit.

So, my recommendation for the upcoming long weekend is this. If you have a garden, gather as many of the vegetables as you have (or beg them off friends with gardens, who are almost always happy to share). Otherwise, head to the farmers market and find them there. You'll need eggplants, red peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil and a squash, if you feel like it. Get some good bread to go with it (good to make the breadcrumbs with, plus good for wiping up bits of vegetables from your plate). Set aside a little chunk of time in the kitchen for the chopping. (You can bake the eggplant at the same time as you're cooking the sauce, and once everything is put together, you mostly just have to be around to take it out of the oven and put it back in again.) Invite someone to share, or save it all for yourself. And once you've tasted it, I'm pretty sure you'll also be contemplating how many more times you can make it before fall finally, irrevocably, arrives.

Eggplant and Summer Vegetable Gratin
from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

2 to 2 ½ lbs. globe eggplant, preferably on the small side
olive oil
salt and pepper
2 large onions, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large bell pepper, finely diced
2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
10 large basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425˚ F. Slice the eggplant into rounds about ½ inch thick – if it’s in season, there’s no need to salt them. Brush both sides of each piece with oil and bake on a sheet pan until browned and tender on both sides, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Reduce heat to 325˚ F.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a wide skillet, add the onions and garlic, and cook over medium heat until limp, about 8 minutes. Raise the heat a little, add the pepper and tomatoes, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until everything is soft and thickened to a jam, about 20 minutes. Raise the temperature at the end to reduce the juices. Add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a 2 ½ quart gratin dish. Make a layer of eggplant in the bottom and spread a third of the tomato-onion mixture over it, followed by another layer of eggplant, half the remaining sauce, then the rest of the eggplant. End with the remaining sauce on top. Cover the dish and bake for 45 minutes.

Toss the bread crumbs with olive oil to moisten and add the grated cheese. Remove the cover, add the bread crumbs and cheese, raise the oven temperature to 375˚ F, and bake until the crumbs are nicely browned and crisp on top, about 25 minutes.

Note: I have no idea how Deborah Madison gets 3 layers of eggplant out of 2 smallish eggplants, especially since you can't slice them too thinly. I've never gotten more than 2 layers, ever, though maybe it's because my pan is too big. This last time, I actually used 4 tomatoes, plus the zucchini, and had just enough sauce to cover my 2 layers. So, some flexibility is possible, and I'd definitely rather have too much sauce than not enough.