Gourmet Ratatouille – A Minimalist Cooking Approach

Gourmet Ratatouille Prior To Cooking

I finally had a chance to make a gourmet ratatouille in the manner of the one Remy makes in the Pixar film “Ratatouille,” which I wrote about a few weeks ago. A little research revealed that the real-life version was a creation by Chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry restaurant in California, and named Confit Byaldi. Unlike the more usual ratatouille that is cooked like a stew, Keller’s/Remy’s gourmet version is a fanned spiral of thinly-sliced vegetables atop a thickened tomato/pepper sauce (piperade) and baked slowly for 2 1/2 hours. The flavors are intense and the texture of the vegetables remains intact, which is especially appealing for those who do not care for soggy eggplant or zucchini.

Now this recipe, and some similar ones from others who attempted to recreate Remy’s concoction, tend to have more steps than I would consider ideal for a minimalist cooking approach. Therefore I set myself the challenge of working from Chef Keller’s recipe, but consolidating the steps to make the recipe as simple as possible without sacrificing the flavor or texture. And of course, it needed to look reasonably close to Remy’s cartoon version Another important consideration is equipment and portion size. Chef Keller’s recipe is baked in an 8″ skillet and serves four. Given that a minimalist kitchen is likely to have just one 12″ skillet, and that ratatouille is even better as a leftover and keeps well in the freezer, it made sense to double the recipe and have lots more food for the time involved in baking it. So get thee to the Farmer’s Market!

The Minimalist Cook’s Simplest Gourmet Ratatouille

Piperade:
4 Tb olive oil
2 red bell peppers, finely diced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 sprig of fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
1 sprig of fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
1 bay leaf

Vegetables:
1/2 lb skinny eggplant, sliced in 1/16″ rounds
1/2 lb zucchini, sliced in 1/16″ rounds
1/2 lb summer squash, sliced in 1/16″ rounds
1/2 lb roma tomatoes, sliced in 1/16″ rounds
1 Tb olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp thyme
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

Vinaigrette:
2 Tb olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
Fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

Oven 275F

Begin with the piperade by sauteeing the red bell peppers, diced onion, and garlic in 4 Tb olive oil in a 12″ ovenproof skillet until peppers soften–be sure not to scorch the garlic. Add the crushed tomatoes, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is nearly gone. This takes about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

In the meantime, slice the vegetables and stir together the olive oil, garlic, thyme, and salt and pepper.

Scoop a couple tablespoons of the piperade and set aside for the vinaigrette. Smooth the remaining sauce evenly across the bottom of the skillet, and wipe off smudges from the top and sides. Starting in the center of the skillet, arrange the vegetable slices in a spiraling fan all the way to the edge of the pan.

You might not need quite all of the vegetables you’ve sliced. Once the arrangement suits your eye, brush the oil mixture over the tops of the veggies.

If you have parchment paper on hand, cut a circle of it to fit the pan and tuck it over the veggies,

then cover the top of the pan tightly with aluminum foil. The parchment is intended to keep the tomatoey piperade from reacting with the aluminum foil.

Bake for 2 hours at 275F. Remove the foil and parchment paper, then bake for 30 minutes more. If the veggies gave off too much water, put the skillet on the stovetop and simmer until the sauce is once again thickened and the liquid evaporated. At this point the ratatouille can be cooled and refrigerated for up to two days, and reheated in a 350F oven until warm.

For serving, combine the reserved 2 Tb piperade with the 2 Tb olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme, and salt and pepper into a vinaigrette. To try to serve it like it is in the movie, use an offset spatula or long knife to take up a length of the vegetables, start to set it on the center of the serving plate, then turn the knife to fan or spiral the vegetables. This is very tricky in real life, as opposed to animation Otherwise, simply cut the gourmet ratatouille into sixths or eighths and fan each serving out on a plate with a drizzle of the vinaigrette.