Ratatouille! A interesting name for a humble French country dish and the one for my next creation as inspired by the children's movie bearing the same name. If you have not seen it, you should. It is a cute, inventive and fun film and as are most animated movies today, clearly made for far more than just children. I love it...especially the 2CV driven by the villan...a favorite car of mine. After watching it the other day at a friend's house with their little child snuggled in close and giving me viewing advice...ie: "Mr. Knott, this is a sad part coming up, so it's o.k. to cry", I had to give it a go. A tear was shed... for the record.
Anyway... seeking to extend an invitation for more vegetables into my body and having been blessed with a couple of small eggplants and peppers to use from my tiny balcony planterbox garden (that has been transfered inside for the winter), I thought this was the the perfect combination to do both... use this small bounty up and try out something new to me.
It was super easy to make, as preparation consisted of simply cutting up the fresh mix of my eggplant, red and yellow peppers (and my tiny green ones), cherry tomatos, zucchini and minced garlic and coating with olive oil, adding them in layers in a pan with spices, to then roast them in my oven. I know it is not layered in the attractive, traditional carefully stacked way, but I was o.k. with it. I enjoyed it as a main dish and would make it again, perhaps stepping outside of the recipe and topping it lightly with a French cheese of some sort. I will have to consult Hayden, my cheese expert about this. While at my table, I imagined a long dreamed of trip to Paris while dining in some excellent company...thinking of this traditional French country dish as something I might be seved in a small left bank bistro along with a warm soup. I think I have too much of an imagination sometimes... Either way, it was quite tasty and satisfying. Viva la France!
My meager supplies.
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