One Culture’s Ratatouille Is Another’s Fill-in-the-Blank By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

October 5, 2010
One Culture’s Ratatouille Is Another’s Fill-in-the-Blank By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

WHEN Julia Child introduced it to Americans back in the 1960s, ratatouille was pretty exotic. But it caught on so completely that, for many people, that’s where the eggplant repertory begins and ends.

It was true in my kitchen for a long time, too. But when I began exploring the cuisines of the Mediterranean, I discovered that beloved ratatouillelike dishes exist just about everywhere you go. It’s no coincidence: Mediterranean cuisines have long had an affinity for eggplant, and eggplant has an affinity for olive oil, garlic and onions. When the new foods that came from the Americas — peppers, summer squash and especially tomatoes — took hold in the region, a number of closely related dishes were born, including what we call ratatouille — and a man from La Mancha calls pisto, an Ikarian Greek calls soufiko and a Turk calls turlu.

The dishes are all made with abundant olive oil and simmered slowly and for a long time, traditionally in earthenware pots. They are recognizably different, though, because of their seasonings. The beguiling sweet and savory flavors in a Turkish turlu — cinnamon and coriander, fenugreek, mint and dill — are nothing like the earthy flavors in the layered parsley and oregano-seasoned Greek briam, the paprika and vinegar-spiked juices of an Andalusian alboronía or the thyme-scented essence of a ratatouille.

The dishes vary in other ways. In Majorca and Greece, potatoes are added to the mix, which makes these medleys substantial enough to serve as a main dish. You find additional summer vegetables like green beans and okra in the stews from Greece and Turkey. One of my favorites, Catalan samfaina, is often used as a sauce for rabbit, chicken or salt cod. The ingredients are chopped very small, tossed with olive oil and cooked for hours until the mixture is so thick and caramelized that it’s described as a vegetable marmalade. Ligurian rattatuia, almost identical to its cousin and near namesake across the border, can also be classified as a sauce, to accompany gnocchi, pasta or fish.

When you get into the kitchen, know that no two Mediterranean cooks make the same dish exactly the same way. Some Turkish cooks use up to a cup of olive oil when they make turlu, while others rely on a mixture of water, olive oil and tomato purée as a cooking medium. One cook will layer the vegetables after first cooking them in olive oil, then finish the dish in the oven or on a slow burner while another will stir everything together. Majorcan cooks from one village or restaurant may use a pungent tomato sauce in their layered vegetable tumbet; others use simple chopped tomatoes.

In my kitchen, I stray from the authentic recipes. If one-quarter or one-third cup of olive oil will work for a recipe that calls for one-half to one cup, I’ll always go for the lesser amount. You can use more if you prefer the robust flavor, texture and heft of abundant olive oil.

And when I want to brown eggplant, I don’t fry it in batches in oil; I know how thirsty eggplant can be. Instead, I toss all of the eggplant with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and either roast it in the oven or brown it in a heavy nonstick pan.

Sometimes the stews can be watery at the end of cooking. One solution is to wait; time and again, I’ve left turlu or ratatouille overnight to find the juices reabsorbed, the stew thick and satiny the next day. You can also drain the cooked vegetables in a colander set over a bowl and reduce the juices to a thick, intensely flavored syrup that you then pour back over the stew.

These aren’t dishes that you throw together for supper after work. There are a lot of vegetables to chop (and in some cases to sauté) before the long simmer on the stove or in the oven. The simmering is pretty much unattended — an occasional stir if it’s not a layered dish — but you do have to be around.

Your efforts, however, can yield dinner for the rest of the week. The stews always taste better the next day (and the next — you can keep them in the refrigerator for about five days), as the flavors meld and ripen. They’re delicious hot or cold, and they freeze well. Leftovers become new meals as they’re mixed with scrambled or poached eggs (traditional especially in Spain and North Africa), spooned over a piece of fish or mounded onto a bruschetta.

This is time well spent.



Briam (Greek Baked Vegetables)

Time: 3 hours

1 medium eggplant

Salt

2 medium red onions

4 large garlic cloves

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, scrubbed, peeled if desired

1 1/2 pounds zucchini

2 large bell peppers, seeded

1/3 to 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, to taste

2 pounds tomatoes, grated or peeled, seeded and chopped, or a 28-ounce can, drained

Black pepper

1/2 to 1 pound small okra, ends trimmed, optional

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 tablespoons chopped marjoram or oregano, or 2 teaspoons dried.

1. If the eggplant is thin and long, slice it about 1/4-inch thick. If it’s fat, halve it lengthwise, then slice in 1/4-inch-thick half-moons. Sprinkle with salt and put on paper towels for 30 minutes. Thinly slice the onions and mince the garlic. Cut the potatoes, zucchini and peppers into

1/4-inch-thick slices. Squeeze excess water from eggplant and pat dry.

2. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add the onions. Stir often, until tender and translucent, about 8 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and stir in the garlic. Cook for another minute or two, until fragrant.

3. Lightly oil a deep earthenware baking dish or a heavy Dutch oven. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper. Stir in the remaining olive oil. Spread a thin layer of tomatoes in the baking dish or Dutch oven and top with one-third of the onions and garlic. Top with half the potato slices. Season with salt and pepper. Layer half the zucchini slices over the potatoes and season, then layer on half the eggplant, half the peppers and half the okra, if using. Sprinkle on half the parsley, about a third of the marjoram or oregano and some pepper. Layer another third of the onions over the vegetables and top with half of the remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with half the remaining marjoram or oregano. Repeat the layers with the remaining vegetables, ending with a layer of onions topped with the remaining tomatoes. Sprinkle with the remaining herbs. Pour the juice from the tomatoes over the mixture.

4. Cover with foil or a lid and bake for

1 1/2 hours. Press the vegetables down into the juice and bake another 30 minutes, or until all the vegetables are thoroughly tender. Cool until warm before serving, or refrigerate overnight and reheat. If there is too much liquid, strain in a colander set over a bowl, reduce the juices over medium-high heat (place a flame tamer over the burner if you’re using the earthenware dish) and pour over the vegetables.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings.



October 5, 2010
Samfaina

Time: Up to 4 hours

1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced very small

Salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, very finely chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 red bell peppers (or one red and one green), peeled, seeded and sliced in thin strips or diced small

1 medium zucchini, peeled and finely chopped

Black pepper

1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or a 14-ounce can, drained.

1. Lay eggplant pieces on two layers of paper towels. Sprinkle with salt. After 30 minutes, squeeze out liquid and pat dry.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat in an earthenware casserole over a flame tamer or in a Dutch oven. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until they soften, about 8 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic, and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the remaining olive oil along with the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini and black pepper. Turn the heat to low, stir, cover and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt, cover again and cook until the mixture has reduced to a thick relish, 2 to 3 more hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasonings. Before serving, allow to sit for at least 1 hour, or better yet refrigerate overnight.

Yield: 6 servings.




October 5, 2010
Turlu

Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground fenugreek

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped mint

1/4 cup chopped dill

1 large eggplant, halved lengthwise and sliced about 1/3-inch thick

4 to 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, to taste

Salt

2 medium onions, sliced

4 Italian frying peppers or 2 green bell peppers, cut in 2-inch slices

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed

2 medium zucchinis, sliced about 1/2-inch thick

Black pepper

1 pound tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped, or a 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice

2 bay leaves

Chopped fresh herbs, for serving

Yogurt, for serving

OPTIONAL:

3 artichoke hearts, quartered

1/4 pound green beans, trimmed

1/4 pound small okra, ends trimmed.

1. Stir together the tomato paste, 1/2 cup water, vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, fenugreek, paprika and half the parsley, mint and dill.

2. Heat a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Toss the eggplant slices with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and salt to taste. Lightly brown, 3 to 5 minutes, as much eggplant as will fit in one layer in the pan, then turn and lightly brown the other side. Remove to a Dutch oven or earthenware casserole. Repeat with the remaining eggplant. (Alternatively, toss the eggplant with the olive oil in the casserole, cover and roast at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.)

3. Turn the heat down slightly and add a tablespoon of oil and the onions to the skillet. Stir often until they soften, about 5 minutes, and add the peppers. Stir until the peppers and onions are limp, 5 to 8 minutes, and stir in a generous pinch of salt, half the garlic and the coriander seeds. Stir until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer to the casserole with the eggplant. Add another tablespoon of oil and the zucchinis to the skillet. Cook, stirring or turning the zucchinis often until lightly colored on both sides and translucent, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the remaining garlic, stir for 30 seconds to a minute, and transfer to the casserole.

4. Add the tomato paste mixture to the skillet and bring to a boil. Deglaze the pan, stirring and scraping with a wooden spoon. Pour into the casserole, and add the tomatoes, bay leaves, 2 more tablespoons olive oil, if desired, and the artichoke hearts, green beans and okra, if using. Season generously with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer (over a flame tamer if using earthenware). Cover, reduce the heat and cook gently, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are very soft, about one hour. Stir in the remaining herbs and simmer for another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. If possible, refrigerate overnight before serving warm or at room temperature, with yogurt and chopped herbs.

Yield: 6 servings.