Skillet Ratatouille, by Shawnie Kelley Foy & Mandy Jones

What to do with the abundance of produce from the local farmer's market? Make ratatouille, of course. The traditional, Provencal French vegetable stew is easy, forgiving, and versatile. This big batch recipe was developed by me and my sister, Mandy Jones with whom I taught our Simply French cooking course at Upper Arlington's Lifelong Learning. We included this dish in our "Provence on a Plate" class but decided to veer away from the usual Dutch oven or casserole version (REALLY, who wants to fire up their oven during the dogs days of summer??). Instead, we created a lovely stove-top skillet version of the recipe, which despite using a million different pans, keeps each of the vegetables vibrant and maintaining their individual flavors. 

We have been eating locally sourced products for years, so ratatouille is in high dinner rotation come late summer. In honor of the "Eat Local" challenge during Local Foods Week, Mandy and I resurrected our recipe, grabbed our market bags, and set out to acquire beautiful veggies from our respective markets...

Recipe: Ratatouille
Time: Prep: 25 minutes/ Cook time:  1 hour
Yield:  12 servings


Ingredients:
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive-oil
5 medium yellow onions, coarsely chopped
Bouquet garni- bunch of herbs tied together for seasoning
3 large red (or yellow) bell peppers- cored, seeded & cubed
2-3 small eggplant (about 1 lb)-cubed, not peeled - sprinkle with salt 30 minutes prior to "sweat"
2-3 medium zucchini (about 1 lb)-cubed, not peeled
5 medium tomatoes- cored 7 cut
OR - 1 28 oz. can- diced, herb tomatoes

OR - 2-3 large tomatoes- concasse (blanched, peeled, seeded & diced)

1 lemon- halved
Fresh parsley- finely chopped for garnishing (or a few leaves of basil)

Directions:
In large non-reactive skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat, add onion and bouquet garni. Stir to coat with oil. Cook covered, stirring occasionally until onions are tender and light golden (about 20 minutes). Do not burn.

Add red bell peppers to the onions; stir occasionally until very soft (about 30 more minutes).

In another non-reactive skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat. Add eggplant. Cook covered until soft (about 20 minutes). Stirring occasionally to prevent eggplant from sticking to the pan.

In another non-reactive skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-low heat. Add zucchini. Cook covered until soft (about 20 minutes). Stirring occasionally to prevent sticking to the pan.

While eggplant and zucchini cook, add tomatoes to onion and pepper mixture. 
Cook over low heat for 15 minutes.

Spoon all of the vegetables together into large bowl. Place pan of combined excess liquid over high heat and reduce until thick. Pour thickened liquid over vegetables and stir gently to blend. Season with salt to taste.  Squeeze lemon wedge over the top and garnish with minced parsley (or herb of choice)

Serve with a crusty baguette from your favorite local baker.

Variations:  Replace 1 eggplant with 1 winter squash, add garlic & include tarragon;
Leftovers can be served over pasta; rolled into a crepe; used as a side dish or as topper on a tart.

Wine Pairing: Lighter style red (won’t muddle flavors); Pinot Noir; Rioja; Chianti; nothing with oak