Ratatouille / Confit Byaldi

Ratatouille is a famous French peasant dish that is a combination of stewed tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant and squash with herbs. It was traditionally a peasant dish made from scraps of vegetables and stewed in a big pot.

Confit Byaldi, which is what this dish is, is a derivative of ratatouille that elevates it to a finer dining level. It is the dish you see in the movie Ratatouille, and was made popular in the late 1900s.

Ingredients:

• sauce:
• olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 5 tomatoes diced
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• salt and pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• toppings:
• 1 zucchini
• 1 Japanese eggplant
• 1 yellow squash
• 2 roma tomatoes
• parsley garnish

Preparation:

STEP 1.

Preheat your oven to 300*F.

Prep all your vegetables by slicing thin on a mandolin. Salt your eggplant and set to the side. After 30 minutes, pat eggplant dry with a paper towel.

STEP 2.

For the sauce, in a large pan over medium heat, add olive oil and saute the onion, bell peppers, and tomatoes, salting as you go. Saute until cooked through, around 8 minutes. Add thyme, garlic and saute another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and blend until smooth in a blender.

STEP 3.

In a large le creuset or cast iron skillet, add your sauce to the bottom and layer your vegetables on top in thin layers. Add garlic, herbs and salt. Cover in a cartouche and roast in a 300*F for 90 minutes.

STEP 4.

Remove from the oven, allow it to cool for 10 minutes, and enjoy.