It’s that time of year when late summer’s bounty is very giving.
I get excited to head out to the garden every morning to see what’s ripe and ready to use but I’m starting to feel overwhelmed.
This was yesterday’s harvest.
I’m not complaining by any means. It’s beautiful and a blessing for my family.
I enjoy sharing these moments of picking ripe fruit with big brother as well. My little chef/photographer in training.
Together, we put our garden gloves on and picked to our hearts content.
It’s great seeing him learn what good things can come when you work from the sweat of your brow.
With eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes in abundance we both decided it was time for the years first Spanish pisto. Ratatouille.
A Spanish pisto can be made in a variety of different ways. Really, it’s a dish to use up the harvest.
A bunch of fresh vegetables diced up and stewed in a fried tomato and onion sauce.
You can add to the stew whatever you have growing in abundance.
Although this dish is easy enough to make it does take time and care for the perfect pisto.
I use about 4 pans for this dish so that certain vegetables can be fried on their own to retain their distinct flavor within the stew.
It’s completely worth it and I’m quite sure… Remy approved.
A dish to use up your late summer harvest bounty. Fresh vegetables of zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and potatoes diced up and stewed in a fried tomato and onion sauce and topped with fried eggs.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 lbs fresh tomatoes, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 eggplant, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 3 medium potatoes, diced
- 2 bell peppers, cut in small strips
- 2 handfuls fresh green beans
- extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt to season
- 2 fried eggs per person
Method:
- In a large cast iron pan bring 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to heat.
- Add the diced onion and saute for about 3-5 minutes or until barely softened. Add the eggplant and zucchini; saute for about 5 minutes.
- Add the skinned and diced tomato, 1 tsp kosher salt, and fry; breaking up the tomato until a sauce forms and is then condensed. This takes about 20 minutes. You'll know the sauce is done when the sauce pulls away from the bottom of the pan with your mixing spoon. Make sure it's still saucy.
- Before:
- After:
- While the tomato sauce is cooking, boil the green beans in the same pot and water that you used to skin the tomatoes. Let them boil for about 10 minutes.
- At the same time the tomato sauce is cooking and the green beans are boiling, in a separate pan, add 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and fry the peppers until blackened and soft. Make sure to use an oil screen as the oil will splatter. Season with kosher salt and set aside.
- In the same pan, add about another 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and fry the potatoes until browned. Season with kosher salt.
- Once the sauce is done, add the green beans, peppers, and potatoes to the mixture. Season with kosher salt to taste.
- Serve with 2 fried eggs on top.
Topped with fried eggs, it becomes rich and creamy. A perfect end of summer recipe that your entire family will enjoy.
Do you make ratatouille? Feel free to share your version in the comments below.
I’m linking this post to Eat Make Grow.
Thank you for the recipe! I can’t wait to try it! It looks fabulous.
That dish looks so delicious Diana!
This makes me smile “Together, we put our garden gloves on and picked to our hearts content.”
I love how you have the recipe set out in a different colored text box. Your blog layout and template work so wonderfully I barely even notice them.
BTW – Thanks for participating in the Eat Make Grow blog hop. Round three just went up this morning:
http://foyupdate.blogspot.com/2012/08/eat-make-grow-thursday-blog-hop-3.html