Ratatouille

The original French Provençal peasant food that makes me want to say it would not be so bad being a French peasant. Mark Bittman calls this "the original 'what do we have on hand?' recipe" and, indeed, you should go into this with such a mindset. If you'd like to throw in mushrooms or a different kind of squash, please go right ahead. The essentials are zucchini (and/or eggplant) and tomatoes, otherwise it's up to you.


Ingredients


1 eggplant, sliced fairly thinly, 1/4 inch perhaps
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced in a mandoline
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
1 largish red potato, sliced in mandoline
1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt diced tomatoes
Fresh thyme and chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
10 cloves garlic, halved

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Prepare the eggplant: Without this essential step, eggplant tastes god-awful. On a plate, place a double thickness of basket-style coffee filters, spray with olive oil. Take the thinly-sliced eggplant and place on the filters in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. Microwave for 10 minutes on high.

In a casserole or heavy ovenproof skillet, layer your vegetables: eggplant, potato, onion, zucchini, bell pepper around and around until you end in the center. Spread half of the canned tomatoes around the layer, place a few sprigs of thyme, half of the garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh ground pepper. Repeat with a second layer. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for about 1 hour, pressing down on the vegetables until they are completely tender. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.