Ratatouille

Nothing says that summer is around the corner or summer is here than ratatouille with its medley of riotously colorful vegetables cut into uniform slim discs and cooked with fresh herbs and tomato sauce to golden perfection in the oven.

The vegetables remind me of a melodious string quartet with the eggplant being the bass of the cello, the tomato the alto voice of the viola and zucchini and squash are the music of the violins. All in perfect gastronomic harmony!

The vegetable slices can be cut very thin or medium sized to make it easier.

You can use any combination of fresh herbs but I prefer the combination of basil and parsley crushed in a bit of olive oil. You could also experiment with thyme, marjoram and tarragon.

I added dried herb de Provence gifted to me by Ms. Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the tomato sauce to add extra flavor.

I created a double layer of vegetable one on top of the other to make a large quantity and stretch it out through the week but it’s harder to cook that way. A single layer is best and most delicious. The line between ambition and greed can get hard to tell sometimes!

I like to serve a tower of the ratatouille vegetables with a golden, sensuous poached egg and slices of crisp, chewy sourdough bread.

It is a labor of love and patience but truly worth the effort as the harbinger of warm weather and sunshine.

Three large zucchini and squash, 3 medium eggplants, 6 tomatoes and 2 bell peppers 

2 bunches of basil, 1 bunch of parsley 

8 clove of garlic and 1 onion and 2 shallots 

2 large cans of tomatoes 

Dried herbs de Provence 

Sauté chopped onion, shallots and garlic 

Add crushed tomatoes, 3 tablespoons of dried herbs 

Add diced bell peppers and cook well 

Cut the vegetable medley into medium sized discs and coat with olive oil and salt

Chop the herbs and crush in olive oil 

Add the cooked tomato sauce to a large pan 

Layer the discs in the string quartet groups of 4

Coat the herbs on top 

Another layer of vegetables is ambitiously greedy which I will not repeat!

Another coating of herbs 

Cook at 400 for 60 min

Serve with golden sensual poached egg and sourdough bread 

                                    Bon Appetit!