Julia Child’s Ratatouille

Step 1

Slice eggplant and zucchini into 3/ 8” slices. Place into a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. After half an hour dry each slice with a paper towel. Do the same for 1/ 2 pound of the tomatoes, salting and placing in a separate bowl.

Step 2

Sauté the eggplant in olive oil in a single layer in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Slices should only be browned slightly, so about a minute on each side. You may have to do this in batches. Repeat for zucchini. Set aside cooked, sliced veggies.

Step 3

Peel, seed, and chop the remaining tomatoes. Reduce heat to medium. In same skillet sauté onions and peppers in olive oil for 10 minutes. Add garlic and then tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer covered for 5 minutes.

Step 4

Preheat the oven for 375˚F. Stir sauce and then increase heat to medium-high. Allow to bubble for another 5 minutes or until most of the liquid from the tomatoes has cooked off.

Step 5

Pour most of the tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9”x13” baking dish (or use a 3 or 4 quart oval dish). Make sandwiches of the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato slices. Place these sandwiches standing up in casserole dish circling the outside of the pan into a spiral. Do this until pan is full.

Step 6

Take care to keep the same pattern of eggplant, zucchini, and tomato slices for a striped effect in the dish. Add more sauce as you fill up the dish with veggie slices, but don’t cover the veggies. They should be about 3/4 of the way covered with sauce.

Step 7

Bake covered for 40 minutes. Finish baking uncovered for 20 minutes. Serve hot or cold alongside meat or fish of your choice.