The Ratatouille from Ratatouille was the first recipe that came to my mind when the #bookandfilmfood project was born. I wonder why. 😀
Maybe because the name of the recipe is already there in the title, and it’s a memorable recipe. Maybe because the movie, although dated, continues to be famous and always mentioned by everyone. Or maybe because when it came out, my kids were little, and I assure you, I remember all the cartoons from that era, all of them!
Whatever the reason, isn’t it true that there are certain movies, or certain scenes from movies, that stay with you and are always ready to come to mind? Well, Ratatouille is one of those for me.
I’ve been wanting to replicate this recipe for years! And this beautiful project, created by these amazing bloggers 😊😊😊, finally decided me to do it, to make the famous Ratatouille from Ratatouille!
And since I was at it, I didn’t skimp and made it in two versions: both in a baking dish and as single servings.
Baking dish version:
Single serving version:
Why two versions:
I started with the baking dish version, obviously. When I made it, I was very proud because it turned out quite similar to the one in the movie (true, isn’t it?). But then, when it was time to plate it, I discovered that… I discovered that it’s impossible to plate it the way Ratatouille does!! 😂
When you take it out of the dish, with a spatula or spoon or whatever you want, it inevitably breaks, opens, falls apart, destroys, in short… I don’t know how to explain it better than this, but the base made of potato and pepper puree spreads on the plate and sticks to the spoon, the vegetable slices separate from each other, or clump together, and it’s practically impossible to achieve that beautiful well-served portion presented in the movie.
That’s why I didn’t give up and proceeded with a single-serving version.
I wanted to succeed in getting a similar one at all costs!
And here is the best I could achieve. 😊 Look closely in the following picture, which I took by placing the plate in front of the computer monitor, the nice direct comparison between my single-serving and that of the famous rat!
😂 I almost succeeded, eh!! Almost!! I assure you I tried! And with commitment!
At first, I really believed it. But what got me was the oven step! The almost perfect shape I had assembled (which you saw in the second photo) opened up because the potato and pepper puree, when heated, “settles” by spreading at the base and causing the slices of tomato, zucchini, and eggplant to distance themselves from each other.
Oh well, it’s really true that you can’t expect to compete with a chef-rat from an animated movie. 😊
But… guys… if only you knew how good this ratatouille is! And it doesn’t matter which version it is, believe me.
Well, I would be ready to tell you the recipe.
I’m not telling you about the movie. It certainly doesn’t need introductions, comments, or reviews, I’m sure you all already know it, regardless of whether you’ve seen it or not. 😉
〰〰〰
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Affordable
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
- 4 potatoes (about 1 lb)
- 1 red bell pepper (about 9 oz)
- 1 eggplant (long type)
- 1 small zucchini (or half)
- 2 tomatoes (ripe)
- 1 red onion
- 1 tsp capers
- oregano
- extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- Baking dish
- Pan
- Microwave oven
- Electric grill
- Plates opal glass
Steps
Peel, cut into pieces, and boil the potatoes. I naturally cooked them in the microwave (find my tutorial on cooking potatoes in the microwave HERE).
Slice all the vegetables.
Cook the vegetables separately, except for the tomatoes.For this baking dish version, I cooked the eggplants in a pan with a little oil, while in the meantime, the zucchini was cooking in the microwave (using the same method I use for cooking potatoes: in pieces, in a closed container with a lid, without water but only with the residual water from washing the vegetables) (see my tutorial for cooking zucchini in the microwave HERE).
I cooked the bell pepper in a pan with the onion with a drizzle of oil and a closed lid.
When all the vegetables are cooked, blend (I used a hand blender) potatoes, bell peppers, and onion + the teaspoon of capers to obtain a puree.
Lightly grease the bottom of a baking dish, I used a pyrex dish.
Distribute the mixture in the baking dish, level it with the back of a spoon, and distribute the sliced vegetables on the surface, alternating them.
Season with a sprinkle of oregano.
Bake to brown for about twenty minutes. It’s not a real browning, it’s more of a step to dry out the vegetables a bit and cook the tomato slices. (That’s why I didn’t cover the vegetables with a parchment paper sheet, as it is done in the movie.)
👉 I used the same ingredients as the baking dish version with just three differences: 3 potatoes instead of 4, no onion or capers.
The preparatory phase is the same as that of the baking dish version, the two key words are: slice and cook.
You can cook the vegetables in the same way I used for the baking dish version, but I intentionally varied because I wanted to experiment and see if the result would be different by varying the cooking method.In this second version, I decided to cook the zucchini in a pan, simply with a drizzle of oil and a closed lid, while I grilled the eggplants on a grill without oil.
As for the puree, this time I used a yellow bell pepper, obtaining a puree with a beautiful intense yellow color, without onion and without capers, but equally tasty, with an intense bell pepper flavor.
This time I didn’t cook the bell pepper in a pan but in the microwave, using (as I told you about the zucchini) the same method I use for cooking potatoes: in pieces, in a closed container with a lid, without water but only with the residual water from washing the vegetables.After obtaining the potato and bell pepper puree, proceed as shown in the following sequence:
Bake for 10-15 minutes.
👉 Since these are single servings that will be served on the same plate that was put in the oven, it’s necessary to use plates, or cocottes, or bowls in oven-safe material. My plate you see in the photo is in opal glass (Arcopal).
Before baking, I drizzled a little oil on the surface, since the eggplants were grilled without oil, I didn’t want them to dry out too much, which instead didn’t happen in the baking dish version because the eggplants were cooked in a pan and thus absorbed the oil during cooking.
Well. I’ve reached the end of this recipe!
I hope that one of the two versions of my personal interpretation of Ratatouille from Ratatouille may suit your needs. And if you want to try them both… let me know which one you prefer!I remind you that this recipe participates in the #bookandfilmfood collection, #animatedfood section.
Click on the logo below to access the collection:
All that’s left for me is to invite you to watch the film clip (find it –> here) in which this ratatouille wonder is made and served! 😀
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Advice without salt
I remind you that I cook without adding salt. 😊
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
■ Decrease salt gradually, the palate needs to adapt slowly and shouldn’t notice the gradual reduction.
■ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
■ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
■ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
■ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
■ Use my salt-free vegetable granules and gomasio.
■ Prefer fresh foods.
■ Avoid cooking in water, prefer methods that don’t disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
■ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
■ Occasionally allow yourself a break from the rule. It boosts morale and helps persistence.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, give up salt:
■ You can still try my recipes seasoning according to your habits.
