Ratatouille

The other night I made Ratatouille "the right way". Julia Child describes it in such a complicated method, I never thought I'd bother with it. Generally, I like to cook with one or a few pans in the fewest steps. I was drawn in by Julia Child's description of the recipe, "Ratatouille perfumes the kitchen with the essence of Provence and is certainly one of the great Mediterranean dishes."

With a whole evening available, time wasn't a concern, and that's a good thing since it took me nearly two hours.

But the result was absolutely devine. Certainly worth the effort!

Along the theme of dinner, I rented the movie Ratatouille. Such a great foodie movie.

My only change to the recipe was that instead of peeling the tomatoes and dicing the pulp, I cut the whole tomatoes into chunks, then pureed them. I can't bring myself to throw away any part of these gorgeous heirloom tomatoes I've been getting from the farm. The eggplant took a bit more than 1 minute per side, perhaps because I cut them a little thicker than called for.

I served it on top of whole grain pasta.

Julia Child's Ratatouille

1 eggplant and 1 zucchini (of similar sizes)
1 teaspoon salt
A 10- to 12-inch enameled skillet
4 tablespoons olive oil, more if needed
1/2 pound (about 1 1/2 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions
2 (about 1 cup) sliced green bell peppers
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, if necessary
2 or 3 cloves mashed garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and juiced (makes 1 1/2 cups pulp)
Salt and pepper
A 2 1/2 quart fireproof casserole about 2 1/2 inches deep
3 tablespoons minced parsley
Salt and pepper

Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 3/8 inch thick, about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices. Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.

One layer at a time, saute the eggplant and then the zucchini in hot olive oil in the skillet for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly. Remove to a side dish.

In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.

Slice the tomato pulp into 3/8-inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of the parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.

Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning, if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.

Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time or serve cold.

Pototo Leek Soup

The same night I made Ratatouille and watched the movie, I also made a soup to use for lunches. I made a recipe that was included with the farm's newsletter. It was Potato Leek Soup.

In the movie, Linguini messes up a soup in the kitchen and Remy the rat helps him fix it. Ironically, the fragrant soup he makes that gets rave reviews is...drumroll please...potato leek soup! What a coincidence.

I followed Julia Child's recipe, since that was the one on the newsletter (another strange coincidence of recipes). The one I include here is Remy's recipe. The two recipes are very similar, but the rat's includes more herbs. I did not bother with the chive oil, though I did add chives. A drop of olive oil in the pan prevents the butter from burning.


Remy's Potato Leek Soup

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 large leeks
2 large russet potatoes
5 cups chicken stock
Bouquet garni (recipe below)
1/2 cup cream
Chive oil (recipe below)
1/4 cup finely minced chives
Coarse salt, ground black pepper

Top the leeks, leaving some of the pale green, and remove the root. Slice lengthwise in half, and then slice each half crosswise into 1/4-inch slices. Immerse leeks in bowl of cold water, repeating until no sand remains, lifting leeks from one bowl to another with hands so you don't transfer sand. Melt butter in heavy saucepan over medium low heat, add leeks and sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so leeks do not brown. Cut potatoes into rough 1-inch dice and add to leeks.

Add chicken stock and bouquet garni, and simmer for about 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Remove bouquet garni, transfer soup to blender in batches, purée until smooth, and transfer to clean pot. Reheat soup, add cream, and bring back to simmer for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, drizzle with chive oil and garnish with finely minced chives.


Bouquet garni

Fold a 6-inch length of washed leek leaf in half, inserting several sprigs of fresh thyme and parsley, eight peppercorns and two bay leaves between the folded leaves. Tie with butcher's cord.


Chive oil

1 bunch chives, roughly chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Add the chives to a food processor. With machine running, slowly add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl or squeeze bottle and reserve.

Serves 6.

Ginger Cabbage Stir Fry

I really thought I already had this recipe posted since I've made it this season. My friend's mother gave me this recipe. I've tryed it in a few ways since, adding tofu or broken pieces of veggie burger, or an egg, or a splash of hoisin sauce when serving.

Last night I stirred in 2 Tbsp of apple butter before adding the veggies. I grated the onion instead of slicing it, and that made it more of a part of the sauce. I also grated in half of a zucchini and a small bunch of carrots. Delicious! A very adaptable recipe.

Ginger Cabbage Stir Fry

2 teaspoons Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
1 Onion, sliced or grated
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons minced Ginger
1 head Napa Cabbage, cleaned, sliced and chopped
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar


In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the oils and heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and saute, stirring, for 1 minute. If I'm adding any other spices or sauce ingredients, I stir them in here. It distributes better that way.

Add the cabbage and cook until it wilts, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and rice vinegar and stir well, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve over rice or other grain.

Eggplant Gratin

Someone had suggested using Ricotta cheese in a smoothie to make it creamy. It is delicious! Here is another use for the ricotta in my fridge.


Eggplant Gratin

1 pound eggplant, sliced into rounds
1/4 cup shallots, sliced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tsp thyme

Preheat broiler, place rack in center of oven. Coat baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Place eggplant rounds on baking sheet in single layer, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil for a few minutes, until eggplant is just beginning to brown (keep your eye on it!) Turn over each slice, add shallots to the pan, season with a little more salt and pepper, and return to the oven. Broil again until eggplant and shallots are beginning to brown.

Turn oven down to 350 degrees.

Combine ricotta, milk, tomatoes, thyme, tomato paste, and parmesan in food processor. Process until well combined.

Lightly oil (or spray with non-stick spray a small casserole dish. Layer half of eggplant/shallots evenly in bottom. Top with half of ricotta cheese mixture. Repeat layers.

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes, or until bubbling and cheese sauce on the top is browning, and all is heated through.

Vietnamese Cucumber Salad

3 cucumbers, cut into diagonal slices
1 small onion or shallot
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/8 tsp sugar
crushed red pepper to taste
1 cup rice wine vingear

Toss all ingedients in a bowl. Add enough water to cover the cukes. Stir and let sit in fridge for at least 30 minutes. Drain off marinade to serve. Marinade can be reused a few times.

Some repeats and more grilling

I made the Romanesco Pasta tonight. It was a small head of Romanesco and I didn't make much pasta, so I ate the whole thing! It has such good flavor. I didn't have the white wine this time, so I used Porto, which I looove.

The grill has been my friend lately for cooking. More often than not this week, for dinner I've grilled or broiled veggies and either stacked them into a sandwich or tossed them with pesto on pasta.

CSA Week 8

The Pick List for Week 8:

Tomatoes
Cherry Tomatoes
Potatoes
Kale
Green Peppers
Cubanelle Peppers
Beets
Carrots
Eggplant
Onions
Cucumbers
Pickling Cucumbers
Zucchini
Garlic

The "fall garlic" is in. This garlic has developed cloves and has been dried, so it lasts longer than spring garlic. These are the first of the potoatoes.

I'm not sure what to make first this week! The farm newsletter includes a recipe for pizza I may try. It promises to be an interesting week.

Catching up

After being away for more than half the week, I've had some catching up to do with my veggies. I made #86, #11 and #4 from the Grill List. I also made babaganoush and stuffed roasted bell pepper halves with it. I mixed up my old favorite, Cucumber Lemonade, doubling up on the cucumber to make up for a shortage of 1 lemon.

Still remaining from prior weeks are the napa cabbage (holding strong!), zucchini and watercress.

Reasons to Light the Grill

Our newsletter included some favorites from Mark Bittman's "101 Reasons to Light the Grill", which made me google it to find out the rest. The full list is over whelming, but there are some that I'd like to try.

I henceforth vow to use the oven and stove top less and cook more with this list (it's fast and easy!). Maybe I should get a grill first. Does a George Foreman count? A broiler will do.

The ones I want to try:

1. Brush thick slices of fennel bulbs with olive oil and grill over not-too-high heat. Cut oranges in half and grill, cut-side down. Put fennel on a bed of arugula or watercress, squeeze grilled oranges over top. Garnish with fennel fronds.

4. Spice-rubbed carrots: Roll peeled carrots in cumin, salt, pepper and brown sugar. Char, then move them away from direct heat and cover the grill until carrots are tender.

6. Brush slices of beet with olive oil and grill slowly until tender and lightly browned. Top each slice with a little goat cheese and some salad greens.

7. For perfectly ripe tomatoes only: Grill tomatoes, any size, until hot and lightly charred but not bursting. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve with fresh mozzarella (or, even better, burrata) and grilled bread.

9. Grilled guacamole: Halve and pit avocados; lightly char them, then scoop out the flesh. Grill halved red onion, too. Chop, combine, add tomatoes, lime, garlic and spices if you like.

10. Grill corn. Serve with mayo with minced garlic, pimentón and parsley.

11. Grill more corn. Serve with curry-powder-laced yogurt and minced onion.

15. Rub thick zucchini slices with a mixture of fresh or dried dill, yogurt, olive oil and lemon. (Or use pesto or parsley pesto.) Grill slowly.

18. Lightly char whole or halved heads of baby bok choy; drizzle with soy sauce and top with chopped scallions.

20. Grill pineapple (or anything, really, from pork to tofu to eggplant). Make a sauce of half-cup peanut butter, a tablespoon (or more) soy sauce, a dash (or more) sriracha chili sauce, a handful of basil or mint and enough warm water to thin. (I’m tempted to say, “Throw away the pineapple and eat the sauce,” but the combination is sensational.)

23. Grill red, orange and/or yellow peppers; toss with olives, capers, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

24. Quick grilled pickle: Rapidly char thick slices of cucumber; toss with salt, vinegar and sugar; let sit for 15 minutes, then drain.

61. Odd, but good: Strawberries and cherry tomatoes, finished with basil-laced balsamic vinegar.

63. The California special: Figs, with chunks of good bacon.

64. Kebab or hero? Your choice: Cut brussels sprouts in half; grill slowly on skewers, with chunks of sausage. Both slowly crisp as they cook.

66. Peaches, plums, strawberries and watermelon. Finish with a sprinkle of salt and perhaps a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

67. Cubes of mango and chunks of white fish; brush with a mixture of soy, fish sauce, sriracha chili sauce and chopped mint or cilantro. Serve with a mai tai.

69. Grilled coleslaw: Lightly char wedges of green and red cabbage and carrots. Let cool, then shred and toss with a little mayo, vinegar, salt and sugar.

70. Grill halved new potatoes or fingerlings (microwave or parboil first for a few minutes to get a head start), red onions and scallions. Chop as necessary and toss with chopped celery, parsley, mustard and cider (or other) vinegar. I make this annually.

74. Steak salad with almost no steak: Halve endives or radicchio; brush with oil and grill. Sprinkle with bits of blue cheese and bits of charred steak.

75. Ratatouille: Grill chunks of zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, eggplant, onion and tomatoes (or use cherry tomatoes), all until lightly browned and perfectly tender. Toss with fresh marjoram or oregano, thyme, basil and olive oil.

85. Glorified grilled cheese: Use grilled pineapple, grilled ham, cheese, pickles and mayo; grill with a weight on top.

86. Grill bell peppers until blackened and collapsed; cover, cool and peel. Grill eggplant planks, brushed with olive oil (or pesto if you have it), until very tender. Make a sandwich with balsamic vinegar, mozzarella and basil. This is also good with strip or skirt steak: grill meat until medium-rare, then slice and salt.

93. An idea whose time has come: Halve and grill peaches, nectarines or apricots. Brush with barbecue sauce or, if you want to be sophisticated, a mixture of bourbon, sugar and mint, or simple syrup laced with basil.

94. An idea whose time will come in September: Halve and grill pears or apples. When they’re done, drizzle with yogurt, honey and a pinch of cardamom.

96. Cut grapefruit in half. Sprinkle with brown sugar; grill, cut-side down. You might top this with chopped pistachios or a little honey.

CSA Week 7

The Pick List for Week 7:

Cherry tomatoes
Corn
Green peppers
Beets
Carrots
Watercress
Eggplant
Celery
Onions
Cucumbers
Pickling cucumbers
Zucchini

Tomatoes are here at last! There is a lot of buzz at the farm about the tomatoes. It seems they are the most exciting crop. My farm planted over 130 varieties; I had no idea so many kinds existed!

This week's pick up contains the more "traditional" veggies - ones I'm used to cooking with. I'm going backpacking for 4 days of this week, so it will still be a challenge to use it all.

I'm planning on bringing the cucumbers, carrots, green peppers, tomatoes and maybe one onion along on the trip.