Test Lab: Ratatouille (No, not the movie)

From my favorite book: "French Women Don't get Fat" by Mireille Guiliano. I read her 2 books in 2007, "French Women for All Seasons" and this book. Both are light, entertaining and filled with practical advice. It's not really the "glamour-puss bon vivant la vie en rose" type of thing, unless you imagine it to be. I read these books for many reasons. I want to eat healthy and I want to learn how they live with panache and insouciance. Okay, I am a closet Francophile, i'll admit it. But being healthy and eating healthy are my priorities, hence this healthy recipe.

Could she be the answer to America's Martha Stewart? I am placing my bets on Mireille, bien sur!

Ratatouille

Another French classic as interpreted by my mother (based on a recipe from cousin Andrée in Aix-en-Provence) is still something I make today in the summer when the variety of suitable vegetables is greatest. I can get three meals out of it. With almost no oil or butter, the ratatouille seems rich, with the juice coming from the vegetables themselves. To get the most flavors, slow cooking is a must.

INGREDIENTS
1 pound tomatoes
1 pound zucchini
1 pound eggplant
4 garlic cloves
2 T minced parsley, fresh
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Yield: 6 Servings

RECIPE
Use an equal amount of tomatoes, zucchini and eggplant. Wash and cut into thick slices.

Using a large pot, make layers starting with the eggplant, then the tomatoes and finally the zucchini, and repeat until the pot is almost filled to the edge. Add some garlic cloves and parsley branches between the layers. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover and cook under very low heat until the vegetables are tender, approximately 1-2½ hours.

Serve 20 minutes later. Use soup bowls, as it is at that stage more of a soup with the liquid being mostly water from the veggies.

Refs:
http://mireilleguiliano.com/section/sub/14
http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/content/ratatouille
http://foodplow.blogspot.com/2008/03/french-women-dont-get-fat-ratatouille.html
Photos from http://mireilleguiliano.com/section/sub/14