Early spring brings the season’s first small green peas. Their season doesn’t last long, so when I find them, I hoard them and use them in almost everything I make. A case in point was my ratatouille I made a couple of nights ago. Not only did I use a healthy dose of fresh green peas, but I cleaned out the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator, and used some caramelized onions which I always have on hand. Incidentally, this ratatouille is the first I’ve ever made on the stove-top.
Ingredients:
3 Japanese eggplants peeled, salted and drained and sliced lengthwise ¼ inch thick (you can substitute 1 large eggplant)
1 yellow and 1 green zucchini peeled and sliced lengthwise ¼” thick; like the eggplant slices
2 cups caramelized onions(substitute 2 large sweet onions thinly sliced)
3 red/yellow/orange peppers, roasted, skin removed and sliced into strips
4 cloves of garlic minced
4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch strips
1 ½ cup fresh spring green peas
¼ cup olive oil
1/3 cup parsley stemmed and chopped for garnish
Method:
In a large sauté pan, heat 4 T of olive oil and cook the eggplant and zucchini in a single layer until barely golden. Sauté in batches and add more olive oil (eggplants are olive oil thirsty). When done place on paper towels to absorb the oil.
In the same pan add 4 T olive oil and sauté the peppers; if you don’t have caramelized onions, sauté the sliced onions until tender but not browned, about 15 minutes over medium low heat. Add the caramelized onions if using them, and the garlic, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomato strips over the peppers and onions. Cover with a lid and continue to cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Then uncover, raise heat, and continue to cook until the water from the tomatoes has been rendered.
Using a casserole or a small Dutch oven, place about a third of the tomato/onion mixture in the bottom. Add a layer of the eggplant/zucchini, and another third of the tomato/onion, the rest of the eggplant/zucchini followed by the final third of the tomatoes and onions. Dump the fresh peas on top. Add salt and pepper to taste, cover the casserole with a lid or aluminum foil and simmer on the stovetop for about 10 minutes. Uncover, and tip the casserole to one side and with a tablespoon or turkey baster, baste with the juices. Slightly increase heat and continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes, until almost all the liquid has evaporated, leaving behind several tablespoons of liquid. Periodically baste while cooking. Be careful not to burn the vegetable layer on the bottom of the casserole.
When done, let it rest for about 10 minutes prior to serving. Or you can allow it to cool, refrigerate and serve the next day. That’s what I did: I removed sections of the ratatouille and placed them in small ramekins, and gently heated them in a 300 degree oven loosely covered with foil and I served them as a side dish for an entrée.
