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Ratatouille

I took my daughter and one of her friends to see “Ratatouille” as part of her birthday celebration. It was fresh, exciting, compelling, thoughtful, clever, and a lot of fun.

Now she wants me to make ratatouille because it looked “so delicious” in the movie. I agreed. This is the first time in my life a cartoon representation of food has made me drool—a true testament to the talent of the animators. Or it could simply be evidence that my stomach has a wild imagination.

I have never had ratatouille because I grew up in a family headed by a dad who was suspicious of casseroles, zucchinis, and most of all casseroles made with zucchinis. It’s never been on my food radar, until now.

Does anyone have a fabulous recipe for ratatouille?

15 comments to Ratatouille

  • I don’t have a recipe, but I do want to see the movie! In fact, on Sunday my siblings and I went to go see it until my brother discovered (in the theatre) that it was a cartoon, so he made us scamper over to the next theatre where we saw Live Free or Die Hard. Fun, but probably not as clever.

  • Oh my goodness- we saw the movie, too, and I loved it! So enchanting! Please let us know if you find that special ratatouille recipe!

    Steph

  • Sorry. My dad didn’t like zucchini either. Or broccoli or asparagus or squash…etc.

    I hope someone has a recipe for it, I would love to try it too. That movie was so good. Nate was laughing to the point of tears.

  • Dot

    We went to see the movie over weekend too. I agree, it was a very creative and fun movie!

    I didn’t think about serving ratatouille. Maybe I could actually get the kids to eat it because of the movie!

    I will be checking back here for a recipie.

  • I tired to email this to you, but it wouldn’t go through… this was in our paper today- looks like the one from the movie!

    http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/07/11/features/food/docf26204114e5f07e7862573130069fa96.txt

    Steph

  • I have my mom’s recipe that I LOVE, but I’m not sure how true to the movie version it is. I’ll have to dig it out of the depths of my kitchen to check.

    And one tip…if you don’t grow them yourself, buy FRESH veggies from your local farmer’s market…it makes all the difference in taste.

  • I wish I could help! If you find a fabulous recipe, please share!?!

  • mopsy

    Thanks for the link, Stephanie,

    Catherine, if you have the time to find it, I’d love to check out your mom’s recipe. Thanks! It doesn’t matter so much if it doesn’t look like the movie version—I just want to taste it! 🙂

  • DaddyBob

    This may be another link to the recipe Steph sent:

    And, you may need to splice the link together.

  • DaddyBob

    Well, that didn’t work 🙁

    I’ll try again:

    The recipe is different from one Steph sent. Is more Ratatouille better?

    It can be found by Googling on “McClatchy Newspapers Ratatouille” — The article is by Kathleen Purvis. The beginning of the text is “Disney’s haute-cuisine hit “Ratatouille” couldn’t have come at a better time. …”

    Let us know the results of your Ratatouille 🙂

  • We loved, loved, loved this movie too. We don’t go to theaters often (expensive), but the rave reviews from family and friends had us bring all five boys to the movies for the first time. Sooo worth it.

    I made that dish in the past, but don’t remember it as being all that good. You probably don’t want that recipe. Good luck!

  • carol

    We saw the movie and I thought about making some Ratatouille too! Maybe the kids will even try it not knowing what’s really in it! );

  • The BEST ratatouille recipe is found in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, Vol. 1. It is perfectly delicious, and well worth the effort!

  • Hmm. I wanted to try the soup. I’m not a squash fan either. Loved movie though.

  • JoAnn

    This was in our Taste section last week, it is the Julia Child recipe…it sounds delicious, if you make it, let us know.

    Recipes: Classic Ratatouille
    Last update: July 11, 2007 – 3:18 PM

    CLASSIC RATATOUILLE
    Serves 8.

    There are endless variations on ratatouille in cookbooks. But our favorite is this one, adapted from Julia Child’s original book, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” written by Child, Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle.

    •1/2lb. eggplant

    •1/2lb. zucchini

    • 1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste

    • 6 to 7 tbsp. olive oil, divided

    •1/2lb. yellow onions, thinly sliced

    • 1 to 2 green bell peppers, seeded and sliced

    • 2 garlic cloves, minced

    • Freshly ground pepper

    • 2 large, firm ripe tomatoes

    •3 tbsp. minced flat leaf parsley

    Directions

    Peel the eggplant, cut off the stem and cut lengthwise into 3-by-1-by-1/2-inch slices. Trim off zucchini ends. Cut into slices about the same size as the eggplant. Place vegetable slices in a large non-aluminum bowl (glass or plastic is fine). Toss with 1 teaspoon salt; let stand 30 minutes. Drain and pat slices dry on paper towels.

    Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook eggplant and zucchini slices in batches until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side, adding more olive oil as needed. Set vegetables aside.

    Cook onions and bell peppers in the same skillet in 2 to 3 tablespoons oil until tender but not browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste.

    Peel tomatoes while the onions and pepper cook by dipping in boiling water, then in ice water to loosen the skins. (Or use a serrated-edge peeler.) Cut out tomato stems, cut tomatoes in half and squeeze out the seeds and excess juice. Slice tomato pulp into1/2-inch strips.

    Lay tomato strips over the onion and peppers in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper.

    Cover skillet; cook over medium-low heat until tomatoes begin to render juice, about 5 minutes. Uncover and baste tomatoes with cooking juices. Increase heat; boil until juice has almost evaporated, about 2 minutes.

    Place a third of the tomato/onion mixture in a heavy Dutch oven or heavy casserole. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top. Top with half of the remaining tomato mixture and parsley. Top with the remaining eggplant and zucchini slices. Finish with remaining tomato mixture and parsley.

    Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with rendered juices. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Raise heat slightly. Cook, uncovered, until juices have evaporated, about 15 minutes. Stir often to keep vegetables from scorching on the bottom. Serve hot, at room temperature or cold.

    Nutrition information per serving:

    Calories 125 Fat 10 g Sodium 302 mg

    Carbohydrates 8 g Saturated fat 1 g Calcium 21 mg

    Protein 1 g Cholesterol 0 mg Dietary fiber 2 g

    Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 vegetable, 2 fat.

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