Traditional Ratatouille

This recipe comes from the classic Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Ratatouille is a traditional French dish made of just vegetables and is traditionally used as a side or accompaniment for bland meats but for us vegans it is lovely with rice, potatoes or pasta or just as side dish. I'm planning on using my left overs for lasagne (just add bechamel sauce) or Ratatouille Quiche. With traditional ratatouille you need to cook all the vegetables separately so that when you layer them in the casserole dish they retain all their own flavors. That being said it's not a quick dish to make, it takes time but luckily it only gains in flavor overnight so it can be made in advance and then reheated. It can be served hot or cold. I replaced the zucchini with yellow squash because I had some on hand.

Traditional Ratatouille

Ingredients (in stages)

1lb eggplant (around 1 large)
1lb zucchini (around 3 medium)
1 tsp salt
4 Tbls olive oil

1/2 lb yellow onion, thinly sliced (around 1 1/2 cups)
2 sliced peppers (around 1 cup)
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 lb ripe tomatoes (around 5 medium)
salt and pepper

3Tbls mince parsley
Salt & pepper to taste


Method

Step One
Peel eggplant and slice into 2"x1"x1" rectangles.
Scrub zucchinis and slice in the same way.
Place both in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and leave for 30 minutes.

Step Two
Onto a non-stick/cast iron skillet add around 2-3 Tbls olive oil and heat the onion and peppers on a low-medium setting for 5-10 minutes to get soft but not brown.

While they are heating up boil your tomatoes in water for 10 seconds to soften the skin. Remove and slice skin in an X at the base and peel away the skin then de-seed.

Slice the tomato pulp and add on top of the onion mixture allowing a couple of minutes for the juices to flow down.

Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and season with salt & pepper.
Remove to a separate dish and place 1/3 of the mixture into a stove proof casserole dish that has a lid. Sprinkle with 1/3 the parsley. Reuse pan for the eggplant and zucchini.

Step Three
Take the eggplant and zucchini out of the bowl where they should have sweat out some of their liquid. Place singly between two paper or kitchen towels to remove the excess liquid.

(Since you need to do this in batches I found it easier to do one vegetable at a time because I had two batches of each vegetable so it worked perfectly because you need to do two layers of these vegetables in the casserole dish.)
Add the olive oil to the skillet and on a low-medium heat sear the vegetables on both sides then add half of eggplant and zucchini onto the onion mixture in the casserole dish.

Step Four
Add second layer of 1/3 onion mix to casserole dish and sprinkle with 1/3 of parsley.
Add last layer of zucchini and eggplant.
Top with last layer of onion mix and sprinkle with last Tbls of parsley.
Cover and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. You want to check often to make sure the mix isn't sticking at the bottom and that the juices are being eveny distributed.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve!

French Onion Soup

This is adapted from a Julia Child's recipe. It was incredibly rich but so amazing!

French Onion Soup

Ingredients

5-6 Cups Yellow Onions, sliced thin
1/2 Yellow Onion, raw
3 Tbls Olive Oil

1 Tbls vegan butter 
2-3 Tbls Cognac
Salt and Pepper
1/2 tsp Sage, Ground
1 Bay Leaf
1 cup vegan White Wine
6 cups vegan Beef Stock (I used vegan chicken stock)
3 Tbls Flour
1/2 tsp vegan Sugar
2 Tbls vegan Butter
1 Tbls Cooking Oil
French Bread, about 8 slices
1-2 cups vegan Swiss, Parmesan or Cheddar Cheese, Grated (I used a combination of Follow Your Hear cheddar & Parmesan but honestly I think it would have been just as good without the cheese)

Method

Heat a heavy, oven-safe, stock pot over medium-low heat and add the cooking oil once the pot is hot. Melt the butter into the hot oil.
Stir the sliced onions into the oil/butter mix, ensuring they are evenly coated.
Cover the stock pot and cook for around 20 minutes checking to make sure they aren’t burning. Onions should be clear and very tender once finished.
Turn up the heat to medium-high, and add the sugar and 1tsp salt.

Continue cooking while stirring until onions are thoroughly browned (caramelized).
Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in 3 Tbsp flour.
Cook 2-3 minutes until flour forms a thick paste (add more butter if needed).
Stir in 1 cup of vegan beef stock, and stir heavily for a couple seconds.
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F.
Add the rest of the stock, wine, sage, and bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

Drizzle both sides of french bread slices with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet.
Cook the bread in the oven for 15 minutes on each side.
Taste soup, and add salt and pepper as needed, then remove the bay leaf.
Add cognac, and grate the 1/2 raw onion into the soup.
Add a little bit of the swiss cheese to the soup, preserving most of it for the top.
If you were not using an oven safe pot transfer the soup to one now.
Cover the soup mixture with the bread, forming a single layer bread top.

Sprinkle the rest of the Swiss cheese over the top of the bread, forming a thick layer.
Drizzle melted butter or oil over the cheese, and place the pot into the oven uncovered.

Bake for around 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Turn the broiler on and brown the cheese.
Remove pot from oven and let stand to cool.

Quick Ratatouille

I used the recipe in A Vegan Taste of France by Linda Majzlik...and this French classic was always vegan :)

Ratatouille
Serves 8

Ingredients

1lb eggplant, sliced in thin rounds (3/8 Inch thick)
1lb zucchini, scrubbed and sliced thinly (3/8 inch think)
1tsp salt
6 Tbls olive oil, dived into 4 and 2
1/1lb thinly sliced yellow onions (I used red)
2 green peppers/capsicum (I used red)
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
1lb tomatoes, peeled seeded, juiced (reserved) and sliced (I skipped this step and just chopped)
3 Tbls chopped parsley
2 Tbls chopped basil (not used in Julia Child's recipe)
2 bay leaves


Method

Place eggplant and zucchini in a bowl and toss salt, let stand for 30 mins and then drain and dry each slice with a tea towel. I often completely skip this step with eggplants but it's up to  you, I'm lazy :)
Add 4 Tbls olive oil to a large skillet and  on a medium heat layer the zucchini and eggplant rounds and cook for a minute on each side. And repeat until all have been done and set aside.
In the same skillet  add remaining 2 Tbls olive oil and sauté onions and green peppers for 10 mins on a low heat do that they are soft, not brown.
Stir in garlic, salt and pepper to taste.
Add in sliced tomato , season with salt and pepper.
Cover the skillet and cook for another 5 mins on low.
Uncover and being to boil until liquid is evaporated.
At this point I just add back the zucchini and eggplant and add the bay leave, simmer for another 10mins, covered then 15 mins uncovered (or until all vegetables are soft) and then mix through basil and parsley before serving.
Serve as a side or a main with rice.