Comments on: Summer Meal Series #13: Ratatouille

By: Matthew

Matthew — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:32:00 +0000

RE: Compost vegetables!

If you make your own chicken stock (which I think you do, recalling my reading) it’s worth it to save those veggie trimmings. I wouldn’t save the pepper, but all my onion skins, carrot peels, and stock vegetable scraps get ziploc-ed in the freezer to put in with my chicken carcasses. It’s a terribly easy way to add flavor. I typically use the same amount of ingredient for stock anyway, but this gives it a little extra, I think.

By: amanda more

amanda more — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:15:46 +0000

http://amzn.to/cwLjzE (Eating on $1) in Amazon This shows costs and calories (Tom and I wrote) Bought in an inner city this would cost perhaps $8. As others have mentioned you would need a lot of olive oil to manage 400 calories per person. Rice can easily be 60 cents a pound so here each could chow down a cup apiece about 650 calories or $4.40 each. An active teenage boy eating foods like this would still need then 4 times the calories or $17.60 a day. The govt thinks you can feed all kids for $7 a day. So, realistically this dish and dishes like it is out of reach except for 1600 calorie a day dieting Mom’s ( for those who need to make the rent.)

By: Emma

Emma — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:21:06 +0000

Excellent recipe, yet again! I am really enjoying this series, and I’m sad it’ll be ending soon. Would you consider doing a Winter Cooking series as well??

One small mistake – I’m pretty sure a “crepe” is not a vegetable :)

By: Trent

Trent — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:08:24 +0000

For some reason, tomato skins get stuck in my teeth! I usually eat them, though.

I blanched the tomatoes because that’s what Julia recommended in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” I don’t think it made a huge difference – so, if you’re all about the skins, use them!

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:09:57 +0000

Sounds yummy. I will try and also thanks to some other posters for giving some good ideas – might try using the crockpot.

By: 8sml

8sml — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:27:26 +0000

When I don’t peel tomatoes, the skins often peel off during the cooking process, roll up, and form little sticks that I find off-putting. However, I’m a path-of-least-resistance cook, so I rarely peel them and just put up with the sticks.

By: M E 2

M E 2 — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:19:33 +0000

I think the movie is better than this dish. But, that’s because I don’t like eggplant, peppers, tomatoes and/or zucchini.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:30:05 +0000

I think peeling tomatoes is for texture. Some varieties have thick skins that can get stuck in your teeth.

I don’t peel my tomatoes either, but that’s because I’m lazy.

By: Kiz

Kiz — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:52:07 +0000

I love Julia Child type recipes, however, The Test Kitchen Cookbook has a better, easier version. Cut everything in equal sized chunks and toss all your veggies together with a can/jar of diced tomatoes, season it up and roast in a hot oven for about an hour. My daughter loves it!

By: Aristotle

Aristotle — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 18:26:09 +0000

Terrific post, Trent. Tried this today and it came out great! I’m surprised at how tasty the eggplant is — don’t usually enjoy this vegetable. I’ll definitely be bookmarking this one, keep up the cooking posts.

By: SwingCheese

SwingCheese — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 03:20:34 +0000

My mom and I were canning today and wondering why people peel their tomatoes before canning them. As I have never canned tomatoes, I suggested that it might be that skins would become bitter. She maintained that it was for looks only.

If it is for looks only, then go skins!!

By: Cheri

Cheri — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:19:00 +0000

@Trent This looks delicious! And good for you to peel tomatoes! LOL I personally LOVE the skin on my tomatoes and have never even thought of peeling the skin off..

By: Brittany

Brittany — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 22:57:27 +0000

Add me to the anti-peeled tomato crowd. Skins are the best part of the tomato.

I bet you peel your peaches for the cobbler too. Alas.

By: Roberta

Roberta — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:15:29 +0000

The America’s Test Kitchen (Cook’s Illustrated, for those who know the magazine) is my favorite ratatouille recipe because it is done in the oven. After chopping the veggies and tossing with a can of diced tomatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper & herbes de provence, spread everything out in one layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and roast it all in the oven, stirring occasionally while you prepare the rest of the meal. I find it to be more flavorful than the stovetop variety, though I’ve made that too many times. Ratatouille is a wonderful dish.

By: eofelis

eofelis — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:39:05 +0000

I’m not much of a cook but Ratatouille is one of the things I make when I get lots of free zuchinni in the summertime.
I make mine very simply: olive oil in a big pan, cut up onions, zuch, eggplant and add diced tomato and minced garlic. Toss it all in the pot and cook it until it’s done, up to and hour or so. I used to cook the onion first but I noticed no difference when I just cooked it all together.

I make a huge pot of this stuff and freeze it in 8oz yogurt containers, a perfect serving size. I have a lot of these containers with lids that I have been using for up to 10 years!

By: Laurie

Laurie — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:26:32 +0000

I’ve been reading all of your summer meal series, and while they all seem to be low cost, this one definitely does not sound like it is quick and easy to make. The directions were so long that I decided to stop reading it half way through. I don’t know if I’d consider this recipe in future series. But, some of the other commenters seem to have much more simpler steps for making this concoction that I might be willing to try.

By: anne

anne — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:18:40 +0000

WHERE’S THE DELICIOUS PEACH COBBLER RECIPE?

By: michael bash

michael bash — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:32:57 +0000

@Jules – Bravo re peeling tomatoes. I’ve been cooking for 35+ years, and I’ve never peeled one.

By: michael bash

michael bash — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:28:45 +0000

@ Robin – don’t confuse cold with room temperature; the latter is traditional and preferred to hot from the oven.

@ Trent. I’m happy you’ve discovered Julia Child; she’ll lead you in the right direction. She asks a lot from her students, i.e. time and some work; she’s slow food at its best. With her you have a great future in store. Watch some of her “The French Chef” episodes (PBS) on YouTube. Bon Appetit.

By: Jules

Jules — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:58:39 +0000

*The Bacon Theorem of Vegetarian Cooking states that you can make anything vegetarin spectacularly awesome to non-vegetarians by the judicious use of bacon. The Sausage Addendum is for those dishes in which bacon would not be suitable.