I love the movie “Ratatouille,” the animated film about a rat who wants to be a chef. Every time I watch it, it reinforces my belief that anyone with a passion for food and cooking can pull off a great meal. When I found out Thomas Keller, world renowned chef/owner of The French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley was the consultant for the movie, it all made sense why I got that feeling. Amazingly Keller has no formal culinary school training but like Remy, the rat with the incredible sense of smell and a fabulous palate to go with it, they both have a strong passion for food and an “all things are possible” attitude. It really comes across in the movie.
“Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.” – Chef Auguste Gusteau
When Keller was asked how he would prepare a ratatouille if the most famous food critic in the world was coming to his restaurant, he responded by saying it would have to be a show stopper! So he drew on what he calls “confit byaldi”, a fancier version of the working class Provencal vegetable stew. He uses thinly sliced vegetables stacked in an accordion style row instead of diced stew-like vegetables. The beautiful, symmetrically arranged rows of the thinly slice vegetables in varying colors is so pleasing to the eye you just know it is going to taste great. Even Anton Ego, the most pompous food critic one would ever want to meet, is nearly brought to tears!
We’re going to keep it simple and just use the inspiration of Thomas Keller with a little Ina Garten thrown in and make a rustic gratin-like tian. The vegetables are all lined up for the same gorgeous look but without the pepper base of Keller’s. I substitute potatoes for the traditional eggplant you find in a ratatouille and sprinkle it with cheese like Garten’s.
I made 2 versions: The Elegant Dinner Party (bit time consuming but visually beautiful) and The Let’s Fix It Fast (more like Ratatouille all tossed into the dish but so tasty!) The flavors just keep getting better the next day or two as they make friends with each other in the refrigerator!
“If you are what you eat, then I only want to eat the good stuff!” – Remy, The Little Chef.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter an 8×8 baking dish. Dish can be square, oval or round and you will stack vegetables according to the dish type.
Slice the potatoes, squash, and tomatoes in 1/16-1/8 inch thick slices. Unless you have superb knife skills, I recommend using a mandolin to slice this thin! If you don’t have a mandolin and your slices are thicker, then cook about 10-15 minutes longer.
Combine potatoes and squash (not the tomatoes) in a large bowl and drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Toss vegetables gently to coat and set aside.
Drain the tomatoes on a paper towel to minimize the excess liquid in the dish.
In a medium sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onions and mushrooms over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
Pour the mixture into the bottom of the buttered baking dish.
I found it was faster to make little layered stacks in my hand and then place in the baking dish. Got a rhythmic song going in my head….zucchini, potato, zucchini (even tho’it is squash, the rhythm was better) tomato. Zucchini, potato, zucchini, tomato….again and again….and again.
Arrange vegetables “poker chip” style in dish, alternating the vegetables and placing them in tight concentric circles or rows depending on the type of dish you are using.
All of the time pays off because the vegetable colors are so beautiful. I must admit I got a lot of satisfaction from looking at the finished arrangement. Food is art!
Now we jump to the fast version and sling all the ingredients into one big bowl….
….and dump them into one small dish. So easy you can do this any night!
Oven time for Ratatouille 2 ways!
Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. I used Gruyere for my fancy Tian and mixed Mexican grated cheese for my fast version for variety.
Bake uncovered until cheese is melted and vegetables are fully cooked, about 15-20 minutes more. Smaller fast version cooks a bit faster but not by much.
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 8-10 medium cremini mushrooms, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 medium round potatoes, unpeeled (Redskin or Yukon gold)
- 4 zucchini squash
- 4 yellow squash
- 4 roma tomatoes, seeded and drained on a towel
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon herbs de Provence
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated (or any good melting cheese like Fontina, Jack or Apple Smoked Gruyere)
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter an 8x8 baking dish. Dish can be square, oval or round and you will stack vegetables according to the dish type.
- Slice the potatoes, squash, and tomatoes in 1/16-1/8 inch thick slices.
- Combine potatoes and squash (not the tomatoes) in a large bowl and drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, herbs de Provence, salt and pepper. Toss vegetables gently to coat and set aside.
- Drain the tomatoes on a paper towel.
- In a medium sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and cook the onions and mushrooms over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Pour the mixture into the bottom of the buttered baking dish.
- Arrange vegetables on edge in dish, alternating the vegetables and placing them in tight concentric circles or rows depending on the type of dish you are using.
- Bake until vegetables are almost tender and lightly golden, about 35-40 minutes.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered until cheese is melted and vegetables are fully cooked, about 20 minutes more. You can place the vegetables under the broiler for the last couple of minutes if you like a browner cheese topping.
- For a fast version, saute the mushrooms, onions and garlic as above and then mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Pour into the buttered baking dish, sprinkle with mixed Mexican grated cheese and cook as above. Saves a lot of time when you skip the layering effect but the taste is great! More like a Ratatouille all mushed together.
