Disney’s Ratatouille – and My Ratatouille Recipe

Remy is a young rat in the French countryside, who also wanted to be a Chef – in Paris!  He dreamed of being a great French chef although his family, of course, was against it.  In the movie made by Disney – fate places Remy and his brother Emile, in the sewers of Paris, happily situated under the restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau – only to find out that his cooking idol is dead. 

When he makes an alliance with the restaurant’s new garbage boy, Remy’s passion for cooking soon becomes an exciting “rat race” that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down. His culinary adventures begin – despite his family’s skepticism and the rat-hating world of humans. However, he finds that he has to help the young garbage boy because the new chef is a martinet and Remy, after all, is a “rat”!!   The chef is also using “Gusteau’s” which had been a famed name, for easy money on fast and frozen foods.

Ratatouille is a traditional French dish and originated in Nice which is in the Provence region on the French Rivieria.  I’ve made ratatouille for many years, and my recipe follows.  This recipe is for a large 9×13 amount but it can be cut in half and baked in an 8 x 8 square bake pan.  Ratatouille is wonderful as a side dish and can be refrigerated for several days, holds well and reheats well.  I’ve also made it in a pan on top of the range when I’ve had a smaller amount of the vegetables required, and wanted to use them.

In ratatouille recipes – except for the parsley, basil and tomatoes which remain uncooked – each vegetable should be browned separately and cooked till just tender enough to be pierced with the tip of a paring knife. The cooked vegetables will then be combined into one dish along with the uncooked vegetables.  This allows them all to keep their marvelous individual flavors.

Ratatouille Recipe:

Cut vegetables 1/3” to 1/2” thick – halve or quarter as needed.  Always cut eggplant skin in half.  Make two layers of vegetables and sprinkle mix over – then top with topping mixture.

1 pound eggplant    

2 cups medium green and red peppers    

2 cups medium green zucchini and yellow summer squash   

1/2 pound mushrooms cut/sliced as needed     

1 cup white onion, chopped 

2 large cloves garlic, minced     

6 to 8 tomatoes or 6 to 8 plum tomatoes sliced 1/2” thick – not cooked     

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf or curly parsley – not cooked     

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil – not cooked

To sprinkle on top of layered vegetables:    

1/2 cup chopped flat leaf or curly parsley   

1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram     

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano     

1/3 teaspoon salt     

1/2 teaspoon coarse grind black pepper    

2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese   

Bread crumb mix to cover top of casserole:  

1/3 cups dried bread crumbs or crushed no-salt crackers     

1 clove of garlic, minced  

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese   

1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram   

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano   

Mix all together and sprinkle over top of casserole to cover.  Then drizzle top with 1/2 cup melted butter.

Cover the 9 x 13 casserole with parchment paper then put aluminum foil over to seal.   Place the 9 x 13 casserole pan onto a larger low-rimmed bake pan.  Cook in a preheated 400 degree oven for 60 to 75 minutes till golden brown top plus hot and bubbling in center.  Cool – place the casserole on a rack for 15 minutes before serving – it will cut nicer when cooler.  This can be made a day or two ahead of using.  Cover with parchment paper and then cover with aluminum foil and seal edges – refrigerate.   Reheat at 325 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.  Remove covers after first 10 minutes.

Butternut squash can be substituted for summer squash.   In keeping with its origin, capers/ nicoise olives and/or anchovies can also be used if choosing to make this a ratatouille nicoise.  Nicoise is pronounced “nee-swahz’’, a French term which means this is ratatouille as it is made in Nice.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED©AT THE AMERICAN TABLE

2010-2011

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Pasta Salad & Muffaletta Salad

This tried and true Pasta Recipe was adopted by our family, and we are “told” to make it for several family occasions.  It’s now a main dish but is actually based on Grandma’s recipe,  a side dish which she made for picnics to the wonderful Chicago Forest Preserves and to Humboldt Park.  Somewhere in all of that there was the North Branch of the Des Plaines River – you could go down the green banks to the river.

Humboldt Park at that time had a Boat House with large squared-off green dinghies which were for rent to row on the adjoining lake.  It also had a Rose Garden with beautiful large Asian green urns which had pink roses climbing up them, as well as a long curved arbor at the end.  The arbor had benches where Grandma like to sit in the shade, and in back of it, there was a gurgling brook.  The Forest Preserves, many of which are now surrounded by the city, were green and had water pumps and picnic tables.

The Antipasto we make has also has become rather “regular”, and though we first served the different parts individually, I recently used an olive muffaleta dressing  which I made into a mixed salad.  This dressing is used on focaccia with Italian lunchmeats in New Orleans.  Italian stonemasons and iron worker came to do the work and brought some of their foods with them.  It  was easy to put together and prepare the night before.  These are tried and true recipes.

Pasta Salad (Forever and Updated):

4 cups (one pound) of Rotini pasta, broken into ½” pieces (originally I used elbows or shells) -cooked al dente and cooled.      1 cup of green sweet peppers, diced l/2”     1 cup of cucumber, seeded and diced 1/2”        1/4 cup onion diced fine      1 cup muenster cheese, diced about 1”            1/2 cup toasted almonds    2 Tablespoons of Pesto – or 4 Tablespoons of finely shredded basil, added last      2 cans deveined medium shrimp (broken deveined okay) remove any remaining veins /drain/ chill/ and put the shrimp and almonds on top of the salad.  Add half of this dressing last:  1-1/3 cup sour cream mixed with 2/3 cup mayonnaise.  Add the other half of dressing just before serving and mix in with the almonds and shrimp.

We use Breakstone’s  reduced fat sour cream, Hellman’s mayonnaise, and Hannah likes to use the tri-colored Rotini now available.

Muffalette Olive Dressing/Salad:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

1/4 cup roast red peppers, drained/ w/o vinegar if in jar/ 1” + diced     1/4 cup pitted black olives    1/4 cup pitted green olives (these can be filled with pimento/ red pepper     two or three anchovies minced or sliced small/ canned in oil or salt (drain oil or wash off salt)   And I added a half package of frozen artichoke hearts sauteed just to tender /cut smaller if nec   plus  1 teaspoon capers  and   2 ounces cubed white cheese, if des.    1 teaspoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley    1/4 teaspoon dry thyme     1/2 teaspoon dry oregano     juice from half a lemon     2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil   2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar    Combine and refrigerate.

At The American Table – Copyright Laura Nobilis

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