RATATOUILLE, THE Right Way
I remember the day so well, I was standing in chef whites in a restaurant kitchen in London and one of my prep jobs for the morning was to make an enormous amount of ratatouille for the menu that day. I was 21 years old and definitely thought I knew how to make ratatouille. Wrong! The chef asked how I planned to make it, I told him. Then followed a detailed explanation of how to properly make ratatouille, in the proper French fashion, this was not going to be a tomato stew with aubergine, courgettes and peppers floating around in a sauce, rather the chef told me all the veg had to be fried off separately, getting a good amount of colour, cooking the veg until tender but especially for the courgettes to still retain a little bite. Cooking in batches and seasoning each round assertively. I had never made ratatouille like this. Replenishing the pan each time with a spot more olive oil, and all the while, in another pan you make a delicious tomato sauce, adding a splash of water at points as the tomato sauce cooks out and reduces, allowing the sauce to enrich but not dissipate. Finishing the sauce with good olive oil is also crucial. Lots of thyme must be added, some black olives too. As for my suggestion of basil, his response was firm, “are you mad, never basil, always thyme!”
I love learning to cook, and I still learn new things 21 years on. And the point? Knowledge and skill in the kitchen can be taught, 21 years on, despite feeling deeply intimidated on the day, when I finished making the ratatouille and it had the head chef’s approval, I felt on cloud 9, brimming with achievement and a sense of satisfaction. Whenever I make ratatouille, I hear his words in my ear, I sense him looking over my shoulder, and I smile.
Top tip, this will taste even better if left to wallow for a few hours for the flavour develop. Serve with grilled fish or meat, or some crumbled goat’s cheese on a piece of garlic and olive oil rubbed toast as a lighter meal.
INGREDIENTS
To feed 4 as a side dish
2 firm aubergines, cut into 3cm chunks, salted and put in a colander with a weight over it to draw out excess moisture for 15 mins whilst you fry the other veg. You can skip this, but mostly I stick to this.
2 red peppers, cut into 3cm chunks
4 firm courgettes, cut on the bias in roughly 3cm chunks, get some surface area to your cut, this will be good when you come to fry the courgettes
1 tin of Polpa Tomatoes, or use same quantity of fresh diced when in season
5 large cloves garlic, I am using new season in the reel, finely chopped
Big bunch of thyme, leaves picked
Olive oil, enough!
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Around 15 black olives, roughly chopped or torn in half
METHOD
Get a wide shallow frying pan hot over a moderate heat, add a good couple tbsp olive oil and fry off the courgettes in batches, don’t overcrowd the pan, get good colour on them. Season them well and reserve on a plate. Continue frying, they should be tender but not super soft.
Fry the peppers the same, get good colour on them, season them well and cook them until they are tender. Reserve on a plate with the courgettes.
Add a film more olive oil to the pan and fry off the aubergines over moderate heat, seasoning well and tuning from time to time, until you have good colour and the aubergines are thoroughly cooked through. Work in batches, adding a spot more oil each time.
With the veg all cooking beautifully, this will take some time / effort, make the tomato sauce.
Add a couple of tbsp olive oil to a saucepan, add the garlic and thyme leaves and fry for a couple of minutes until the garlic smells delcious! Add the tomatoes and season well with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes over a moderate heat, add a splash of water and continue cooking. You might need to do this again, before the sauce is cooked out and you have finished cooking all the veg. Add the olives to the sauce when you’ve got it tasting delcious. Add a glug more olive oil and remove from the heat. The sauce should have cooked for at least 30 mins, topping up with a splash of water from time to time to keep the consistency right.
Add the perfectly cooked veg and gently turn them all over in the tomato sauce, off the heat, you want the veg just bound in the tomato sauce, not the other way around. Season with a glug more olive oil and serve warm or even at room temperature, never piping hot.