Joyeux jour d’Aubergine!

Turns out that the first variety of eggplant cultivated in England was white in color and because of the cold weather (eggplant is native to Asia and was widely cultivated in the middle east at the time) only grew to the size of a goose egg.

Today’s dish was easy to decide upon because to me, eggplant + France = ratatouille. Here is Julia Child’s recipe, which follows the more traditional route of cooking each vegetable separately and then combining them in a platter and cooking it in the oven to form a melange. Turns out the ratatouille in the film Ratatouille is actually confit byaldi.

Ratatouille

1 lb eggplant

1 lb zucchini

1 tsp salt

4 tbs olive oil, or more

1 1/2 cups of thinly sliced yellow onions

2 cloves mashed garlic

1 lb firm tomatoes

3 tbs minced parsley

First, peel the eggplant and cut in long, lenghtwise slices 3/8 inch thick. Slice the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices. Put the veggies in a bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon salt. Let them sit for 30 minutes to loose some of their moisture. I am not persuaded that this technique really get rids of *that* much water, but I did it anyway.

While waiting on the eggplant, pulp the tomatoes. Boil a small pan of water, slice an “x” on the top of each tomato and plop into the boiling water for 30 minutes. Once they are cool enough to touch, peel the skin. Then, slice in half and gently remove the pulp. Slice the pulp into 3/8 inch strips.

In a skillet, saute the e eggplant and then the olive oil until browned very slightly. Set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion in olive oil for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato to the top of the onions. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Arrange the casserole – put a third of the tomato/onion mixture on the bottom, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of parsley. Then add half of the eggplant and zucchini. Repeat. Cover the casserole and cook at 275 for 15 minutes. Enjoy!