Tag: French
“Quick and dirty” ratatouille for two
INGREDIENTS Serves 2 2 eggplants (240 gms) If you like zucchini, you can substitute 1 eggplant for 120 gms zucchini 1 1/2 medium-sized green peppers or a mixture of different coloured peppers (200 gms) 1 large tomato (180 gms) 1/4 large onion (85 gms) 2-3 …
Confit Byaldi
No, I haven’t made this, although I have made the "original" Ratatouille. But I do want to make it the next time an opportunity (a dinner party?) arises.
According to Wikipedia:
French chef Michel Guérard invented a "Confit Bayaldi" as early as 1976, replacing ratatouille’s traditional rough-cut vegetables with thinly sliced rounds. Confit byaldi is an interpretation of the French dish by American chef Thomas Keller, made for the 2007 film Ratatouille.
The name is a play on the Turkish dish, "imam bayildi", which is more of a stuffed eggplant. The dish has appeared sporadically on menus in France and the United States ever since.
American celebrity chef Thomas Keller first wrote about a dish he called "byaldi" in his 1999 cookbook, The French Laundry Cookbook. Beginning in mid-2000, he served as food consultant to the Pixar film, Ratatouille, allowing its producer, Brad Lewis, to intern for two days in the kitchen of his restaurant, French Laundry. Lewis asked Keller how he would cook ratatouille if the most famous food critic in the world were to visit his restaurant. In a moment of inspiration, he fanned the vegetables in a high sculptural form with a palette knife. The dish became the focus of the climactic scene in the film, and its depiction was so appealing that Keller exclaimed that watching it made him hungry.
Preparation and serving
A pipérade is first made of peeled, finely chopped, and reduced bell peppers, yellow onions, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. The piperade is spread thin in a baking tray or casserole dish, then layered on top with evenly-sized thinly-sliced rounds of zucchini, yellow squash, Japanese eggplant, and roma tomatoes, covered in parchment paper, then baked slowly for several hours to steam the vegetables. The parchment is removed so that the vegetables may be roasted. To serve, the piperade is formed into a small mound, and the rounds arranged in a fanned-out pattern to cover the piperade base. A balsamic vinaigrette is drizzled on the plate, which may be garnished.
Despite the delicate preparation and presentation, like most ratatouilles, confit biyaldi improves with age overnight in the refrigerator.
I found the recipe in an article by the New York Times about the production of the movie Ratatouille:
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
FOR THE PIPERADE
1/2 red pepper, seeds and ribs removed
1/2 yellow pepper, seeds and ribs removed
1/2 orange pepper, seeds and ribs removed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
3 tomatoes (about 12 ounces total weight), peeled, seeded, and finely diced, juices reserved
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
1/2 a bay leaf
Salt to taste
THE VEGETABLES
1 zucchini (4 to 5 ounces) sliced in 1/16-inch rounds
1 Japanese eggplant, (4 to 5 ounces) sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
1 yellow squash (4 to 5 ounces) sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
4 Roma tomatoes, sliced into 1/16-inch rounds
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/8teaspoon thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Assorted fresh herbs (thyme flowers, chervil, thyme)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
To prepare the piperade, heat oven to 450 degrees. Place pepper halves on a foil-lined sheet, cut side down. Roast until skin loosens, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel and chop finely.
Combine oil, garlic, and onion in medium skillet over low heat until very soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes, their juices, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Simmer over low heat until very soft and very little liquid remains, about 10 minutes, do not brown; add peppers and simmer to soften them.
Season to taste with salt, and discard herbs. Reserve tablespoon of mixture and spread the remainder in the bottom of a baking tray.
To prepare the confit byaldi, heat oven to 275 degrees. Down the centre of the baking tray spread with the piperade, arrange a strip of 8 alternating slices of vegetables, overlapping so that 1/4 inch of each slice is exposed. Around the centre strip, overlap vegetables in a close spiral that lets slices mound slightly toward centre. Repeat until the tray is filled – not all vegetables may be needed, arrange whatever will fit on the tray.
Mix the garlic, oil, and thyme leaves in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle over the vegetables. Cover with aluminium foil and crimp the edges to seal well. Bake until the vegetables are tender when tested with a paring knife, about 2 hours.
Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more. (Lightly re-cover with foil if it starts to brown.) If there is excess liquid in pan, place over medium heat on stove until reduced. (At this point it may be cooled, covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Serve cold or reheat in 350-degree oven until warm.)
To prepare the vinaigrette, combine reserved piperade, oil, vinegar, herbs, and salt and pepper to taste in a bowl.
To serve, heat broiler and place byaldi underneath until lightly browned. Slice in quarters and very carefully lift onto plate with offset spatula. Turn spatula 90 degrees, guiding byaldi into fan shape. Drizzle vinaigrette around plate. Serve hot.
Classic Ratatouille
Yes, this is the dish made famous by the movie of the same name by the cook of the same name! I first cooked it in honour of the trip we were about to make to France in December 2007. But mind you this is …
