Cooking with Hollywood: Ratatouille 7

I'm sure that the dish Ratatouille was chosen for the movie because it starts with RAT and the movie is about a rat, so that's perfect - but it's really a great dish for using up bits of leftovers, and for offering a variety of vegetables at a meal. I like to make it in the winter time when fresh vegetables aren't that available and you need to cook them to intensify the flavors.

Ratatouille is normally a combination of eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and onions, seasoned with garlic and herbs like basil and thyme. Just sauté the garlic and onions. Then add the vegetables and cook them all together until they are tender. If you are using dried herbs, add them early and if you are using fresh herbs, add them at the end to keep their fresh taste in tact. You can serve this like a stew or you can cut the vegetables larger (as Remy did in the movie) and arrange them in rows or circles in a baking dish and bake them instead of sautéing them. You can also add other bits of leftover things like diced or sliced potatoes, cooked pasta or rice. Or, you can serve your stew over the starch. And last, you can also add cooked chicken or meat.

Don't forget salt, pepper and little acid like lemon juice... and the first commandment of cooking, which is to taste your dish and if necessary and adjust the spices before you serve it. There you have it! Ratatouille! At least, doing this blog, I learned how to spell it. :)