Ajapsandali - Georgian Ratatouille.

Ajapsandali - Georgian Ratatouille, a ratatouille that bites back.
Translated from the Turkic dialects means "How delicious you are!"

- Ajapsandali - A Ratatouille That Bites Back — Chesnok:
3 large eggplants, stemmed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into ½-inch slices
2 large onions, medium chop
3 large carrots, cut into half moons
3 bell peppers (preferably of various colors), medium chop
1 jalapeño, finely chopped (depending on your spice preference, leave as much or little seeds)
3 large tomatoes, peeled, deseeded, squeezed of any extra juices, and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, one pressed, the other three thinly sliced
1 large bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped
4-5 springs of basil (preferably purple if it’s available), sliced in chiffonade
kosher salt
sugar (optional)
sunflower or grapeseed oil
Prepare the vegetables and spices.
Peel and cut the eggplant into long pieces.
Cut potatoes into large pieces.
Cut green pepper.
Cut onions.
Chop greens.
Fry eggplant in oil on the pan.
Fry potatoes.
Stew pepper and onions in oil.
You can put the layers of chopped ingredients in saucepan without stewing; pour oil, sprinkle with greens, spices and boil. You can use rice instead of potatoes.
Put together fried vegetables, add tomatoes and stew.
Stew until vegetables are ready. Sprinkle with greens and garlic. Remove from fire.

The New Rule of Ratatouille: Forget the Rules.

- The New Rule of Ratatouille: Forget the Rules | Serious Eats:
Ratatouille typically includes a mix of eggplant, summer squash (i.e., zucchini, yellow squash, and other soft-skin types), onion, garlic, bell peppers, and tomatoes stewed in olive oil. Herbs vary, and some folks hold very strong opinions about which ones they should and should not be, but among the most ubiquitous are basil, parsley, and thyme.
- Cutting the Vegetables: Anywhere from 0.5cm to 1cm pieces is a good size.
- Pre-Salting: The salted eggplant and squash produced ratatouille with more depth and sweetness.
You can dice the eggplant and squash, then salt them and let them sit while you continue dicing the other vegetables.
- Single-Pot Versus Individually Cooked Vegetables: you do preserve the shape and flavor of each vegetable a little better by cooking them separately...but not absolutely essential - starting with the onion and garlic, then adding the bell peppers soon after, followed by the squash and eggplant, and finally the tomato.
- Fresh Diced Tomato Versus Tomato Purée: the diced fresh tomato maintained its shape to the end, while the puréed tomatoes acted as a sauce, coating everything in a red sheen and helping to bind it all together.
As you can imagine, the tomato flavor is more pervasive when added as purée, since it glazes every other vegetable in the dish.
I prefer the purée.
Canned whole tomatoes often provide some of the best quality you can get, but feel free to use a puree made from cooked fresh ones if they're good enough.
Ratatouille: Step by Step:
I start by salting the eggplant and squash and letting them stand in a strainer set over a bowl for between 15 and 30 minutes.
Whether doing the individually cooked or the one-pot approach, I then sweat onion and garlic in olive oil.
For the one-pot approach, the next step is to combine everything else in the pot and let it cook until done.
Once everything is in the pot, I set it over low heat and add the tomato.
I also add herbs at this point; here, it's a bundle of basil, parsley, and thyme.
Herb garnishes are up to you, too. In these photos, I've stirred in some chopped parsley, but you could use basil, another herb, or just leave it out altogether.
I'll often also stir in a bit more fresh olive oil for flavor at the end.
As good as ratatouille is hot, it's so, so much better when eaten slightly chilled or at room temperature the next day.

Provençal Ratatouille Recipe:
Ingredients
3 cups 0.6cm diced summer squash, such as zucchini and yellow squash (about 4 small or 2 medium squash)
3 cups 0.6cm diced Italian eggplant (about 1 medium eggplant)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more as needed
3 cups 0.6cm diced yellow onion (about 3 medium onions)
6 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
3 cups 0.6cm diced red and yellow bell pepper (about 4 large peppers)
2 cups pureed canned whole tomatoes, with their juices, from 1 (800g) can
1 bouquet garni (herb bundle), made from fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley, and basil, tied together with butcher's twine
Chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems, for garnish (optional)

Directions
1. Place summer squash in a wire mesh strainer set over a bowl; place eggplant in a second wire mesh strainer and set over a second bowl.
Toss both with a liberal amount of kosher salt and let stand to drain at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Discard any liquid that collects in the bowls.

2. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add onion and garlic, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes.
Scrape onion and garlic onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread in an even layer to cool for 3 minutes.
Transfer onion and garlic to a large pot.

3. Meanwhile, add 3 more tablespoons olive oil to skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add bell pepper, season with salt, and cook, stirring, until softened, about 7 minutes.
Scrape bell pepper onto the rimmed baking sheet in an even layer to cool for 3 minutes.
Transfer bell pepper to pot with onion.

4. Add 3 more tablespoons olive oil to skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add summer squash and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes.
Scrape onto rimmed baking sheet in an even layer to cool for 3 minutes.
Transfer to pot with onion and bell pepper.

5. Add remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil to skillet and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Add eggplant and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes; add more olive oil as needed if skillet dries out while cooking eggplant.
Scrape eggplant into pot with other vegetables and stir to combine.

6. Set pot of vegetables over medium-high heat and stir in tomato puree and herb bundle; heat until ratatouille is gently bubbling, then lower heat to medium and cook, stirring, until tomato puree coats vegetables in a thick sauce, about 15 minutes.
Discard herb bundle.
Season with salt, stir in chopped parsley (if using), and drizzle with a small amount of fresh extra-virgin olive oil.
Serve right away, or chill and serve either reheated, slightly chilled, or at room temperature.
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Ratatouille from Mastering The Art of French Cooking.

serves 6-8
Ingredients
500g eggplant
500g zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
6-7 tablespoons olive oil, more if necessary
250g (about 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
500g firm red tomatoes, or 1 1/2 cups pulp
2 (about 1 cup) sliced green bell peppers
2 cloves mashed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 1cm thick, about 8cm long, and 2-3cm wide.
Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends, and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices.
Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt.
Let stand for 30 minutes.
Drain.
Dry each slice in a towel.
One layer at a time, saute the eggplant, and then the zucchini in hot olive oil for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly.
Remove to a side dish.
In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned.
Stir in the garlic and season to tastes.
Slice the tomato pulp into 1cm strips.
Lay them over the onions and peppers.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice.
Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil off several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.
Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of the casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of parsley.
Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley.
Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.
Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices.
Correct seasoning, if necessary.
Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil.
Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.
Set aside uncovered.
Reheat slowly at serving time or serve cold.

It's a method promoted by Julia Child:
- In the News | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University: "Siting Julia"

Also: - Classic Ratatouille | Essential Pepin:
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