Medlock Ames Ratatouille

Fresh, simple and delicious with Medlock Ames wines.

Here’s my recipe for ratatouille. It is nothing fancy, but it’s perfect if your garden is overflowing with produce that you can’t eat fast enough (or palm off on your neighbors), and so satisfying! It also freezes well – to help you remember the summer long after it’s gone.
 

• 3 lb tomatoes
• 8 cloves of garlic - finely chopped or pressed (mash with salt for best effect)
• 2 handfuls flat-leaf parsley - chopped
• 1 handful basil leaves - torn coarsely (trust me, it makes a difference)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 2 medium eggplants - cut into 1inch cubes
• 2 large onions - diced
• 3 assorted bell peppers - cut into 1 inch pieces
• 4 medium zucchini - cut into 1 inch pieces
• salt – coarse sea salt (maldon works best)
• black pepper - (freshly ground please)

Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute. Remove from water. Peel when they’re no longer hot enough to burn your fingers. This is the hardest part of this dish.
Salt the eggplant heavily – crumbling those crystals in your fingers as you go…
Sauté garlic in 1/3 cup olive oil for 1 minute, then add onions. When the onions are translucent, add the peppers, zucchini, parsley and basil.

Dry the eggplant with a paper towel and add to the other sautéing vegetables
Add the chopped tomatoes, salt, black pepper, and remaining oil and let simmer for 1.5 hours. Enjoy!