There is nothing like having a baby (which I had three weeks ago) to focus you on the bare essentials in life since all of a sudden the window for doing anything closes the moment the little guy’s mouth opens. My prerequisite now for food is that if I’m going to make it, it must take less than 30 minutes from conception to birth of the dish.
The latest dish to accomplish this is ratatouille. You can make it more complicated by individually browning the vegs or letting the moisture out of the eggplant with a salt rub or any other variation that adds time but not taste, or you can toss everything into a dish, cover, simmer and eat.
I first remember eating ratatouille when I was in France where I spent a summer soaking up the sun on a beach and the traditions in a French kitchen. Ratatouille was a simple dish that we ate often and often ate cold. I don’t remember my French “mother” making a big fuss over its creation – she too seemed to have better things to do than labor over a cutting board and a stove. The key ingredient is eggplant, but to be honest I tend to toss in whatever vegs I have on hand and if there is far more zucchini than eggplant or there is no red pepper but I have carrots I need to use up, then “tant pis” as the French would say, which loosely translated means, “Too damn bad” or “No big deal”, depending on your mood.
This is all you need ….
…plus the spices etc which you’ll see in the recipe, oh and tinned tomatoes which did not make the photo.
Here’s Baby Finn sporting his eggplant hat in celebration of his mother’s ratatouille.
Get the recipe for (very simple) Ratatouille .
Any other fab and easy vegetable dishes you want to share? The kind you can toss into a pot and walk away from?
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Collard Greens with Cabbage and Apple (another very simple dish)
Sauteed Fennel with Olives and Tomatoes (in case you have extra tomatoes and you’re looking to put them to work)
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