Ratatouille with Pasta

Well, I dunnit, god damn it, I waited too long to post the recipe so I mostly forgot the amounts of each ingredient. It would figure that this was my best batch too! Oh well. Ratatouille is pretty improvisational anyway- depending on the sweetness of the tomatoes, the flavor in the vegetables, it can turn out like bland veggie poo or heavenly ambrosia, all else equal.


Anyway, I'm planning to make another batch before eggplant/zucchini season ends, which means I've got about 2-4 weeks tops. I'll just refrain from adding much oil so that the good stuff keeps until late Fall/early Winter, when we get the sudden urge to bail for a night. I'll update the writeup at that time, with a new and improved pasta-to-ratatouille ratio, hopefully meriting a favorable review.

For now, I hope you enjoy the process photos and recipe crumbs scraped from the annals of my memory.

Ratatouille with Pasta

Recipe approximate- subject to change

Flavor: 9/10 (pasta ratio needs improvement)

Ease at home: 7/10

Ease at camp: 8/10
Heat level: 2/10

Times made: 1

Recipe (serves two):

1. Medium-small dice to uniform size the following vegetables:

• 1 large eggplant or 2 medium eggplants
• 2 medium zucchini
• 4-5 corno di toro or other sweet pepper
• 1.5 large yellow onion

2. Roast eggplant:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Toss diced eggplant with spray oil and salt, just enough to coat
• Spread eggplant on silpat, parchment paper, or pray it doesn't stick too bad to the pan- you can't use a ton of oil because it will cause the dehydrated ratatouille to leak oil.
• Roast until soft and lightly brown on the outside, stirring gently periodically.
• The eggplant should be done before you begin sauteeing the vegetables.

3. Saute vegetables:

• Heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat, while warming add 4 crushed or minced cloves garlic
• Just when aromatic, but before the garlic browns, add the onion, peppers, zucchini, and 1 T tomato paste. Sautee until vegetables are just barely tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
• Add 3 c. canned diced tomatoes, 1/2 t thyme, a few cracks of pepper, 1 t chili flake, 2 bay leaves, and the "secret ingredient" (I know, I know) 1 T anchovy salt OR 1 finely minced salt-packed anchovy and some of its surrounding salt, and the roasted eggplant.
• Bring heat to low, stir, and simmer for around 15 minutes. Remove and cool. Finish by sprinkling on a little salt, sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar, and lemon juice to taste.

4. Dehydrate:

Did I forget anything? I am staring at this trying to figure out if I forgot anything.

Once complete, pack in a bag with your choice of pasta and some olive oil. Pack the ratatouille into a freezer bag so that you can rehydrate it without making extra dishes dirty. Consider bringing a little salami or dehydrated seitan sausage to amp up the flavor and protein later.

4. At camp:

• Bring more than enough water to boil pasta, to a boil.
• Once water is boiling, pour off enough into the ratatouille bag to cover. Put it in a cozy to rehydrate.
• Meanwhile, boil pasta
• Drain pasta, toss with ratatouille, olive oil, salt to taste, and some sliced protein if you so choose. 
• Enjoyyyy