which_chick (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
which_chick) wrote2009-10-07 05:13 pm
which_chick) wrote2009-10-07 05:13 pm
(no subject)
Instructions for ratatouille, which I can't find here.
Instructions for Ratatouille
This isn't official. It's just what I do at my house.
In a large pot, one big enough to boil a chicken but not big enough to boil down a turkey carcass for stock, you are going to combine the following items:
1 medium eggplant
1 smallish zuke
1 smallish yellow crookneck squash
2 regular tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes
1 white onion
5 cloves garlic (give or take)
1 green/red/orange/yellow bell pepper. (You can go two here if they're cheap.)
8 oz white button mushrooms (if you have 'em)
some white wine of some sort -- try for "not light/fruity/sweet". Use real wine, not that "cooking" kind.
some basil and about 1/3 as much oregano as basil.
some olive oil
Steps, yo.
1. Put glug of olive oil in bottom of pan, add heat to about 3 on an electric stove dial. You want a low temp, not halfway on the dial.
2. Put in sliced garlic cloves and sliced onion pieces. Stir around to wilt.
3. While they are wilting, cut up the green pepper and add that. Stir the pan around a bit.
4. Peel the eggplant and cut into 1/2" cubes. Add some salt and the eggplant to the pan.
5. Cut up the tomatoes and put them in there (I slice into thin salad wedges) along with a couple of glugs of the white wine. Remember to stir.
6. Cut the zuke and yellow squash lengthwise into quarters and then slice into wedges. Put them in the pan along with the basil and oregano. Stir, remember. I use a lift-and fold motion to avoid mushing the veggies.
7. If using mushrooms, clean those and slice 'em up and put them in last.
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. It'll take about forty minutes or so to get everything in the pot to start with. I do not pre-clean and pre-cut my ingredients like some kind of damn cooking show. I do 'em as I go. Once everything is in there, it needs to cook for some more time, probably another thirty minutes at the low end, before it's done.
Doneness: The eggplant takes forever to cook. If the eggplants are done and the squashes are soft, it's good to go. If the eggplants are not done, you have to cook more to make the eggplants done. If you are using mushrooms, they will be done by the time the eggplants are done, which makes them a helpful indicator.
You may need to finalize wine, salt, and (if desired) black pepper at the end. Start tasting on the first stir after all the ingredients are added.
Serve (a) with linguini (b) with rice (c) by itself or (d) with slices of crusty, buttered bread
Reheats well.
Instructions for Ratatouille
This isn't official. It's just what I do at my house.
In a large pot, one big enough to boil a chicken but not big enough to boil down a turkey carcass for stock, you are going to combine the following items:
1 medium eggplant
1 smallish zuke
1 smallish yellow crookneck squash
2 regular tomatoes or 4 plum tomatoes
1 white onion
5 cloves garlic (give or take)
1 green/red/orange/yellow bell pepper. (You can go two here if they're cheap.)
8 oz white button mushrooms (if you have 'em)
some white wine of some sort -- try for "not light/fruity/sweet". Use real wine, not that "cooking" kind.
some basil and about 1/3 as much oregano as basil.
some olive oil
Steps, yo.
1. Put glug of olive oil in bottom of pan, add heat to about 3 on an electric stove dial. You want a low temp, not halfway on the dial.
2. Put in sliced garlic cloves and sliced onion pieces. Stir around to wilt.
3. While they are wilting, cut up the green pepper and add that. Stir the pan around a bit.
4. Peel the eggplant and cut into 1/2" cubes. Add some salt and the eggplant to the pan.
5. Cut up the tomatoes and put them in there (I slice into thin salad wedges) along with a couple of glugs of the white wine. Remember to stir.
6. Cut the zuke and yellow squash lengthwise into quarters and then slice into wedges. Put them in the pan along with the basil and oregano. Stir, remember. I use a lift-and fold motion to avoid mushing the veggies.
7. If using mushrooms, clean those and slice 'em up and put them in last.
Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. It'll take about forty minutes or so to get everything in the pot to start with. I do not pre-clean and pre-cut my ingredients like some kind of damn cooking show. I do 'em as I go. Once everything is in there, it needs to cook for some more time, probably another thirty minutes at the low end, before it's done.
Doneness: The eggplant takes forever to cook. If the eggplants are done and the squashes are soft, it's good to go. If the eggplants are not done, you have to cook more to make the eggplants done. If you are using mushrooms, they will be done by the time the eggplants are done, which makes them a helpful indicator.
You may need to finalize wine, salt, and (if desired) black pepper at the end. Start tasting on the first stir after all the ingredients are added.
Serve (a) with linguini (b) with rice (c) by itself or (d) with slices of crusty, buttered bread
Reheats well.