Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Friday, Oct 22 - Ratatouille with Coddled (Poached) Eggs

Ratatouille with Poached Coddled Egg
We got this idea originally from one of our favourite cookbooks.  That said, I have been making Ratatouille since I became a vegetarian nearly 20 years ago so I really did not need someone else's recipe for Ratatouille.  I'm not saying mine is better but it's better for me and I can mostly do it without thinking.  As well, I've always thought of the dish as a slow cooked, melded flavours dish, and the cookbook we were inspired by had a stew time of 8-10 minutes. So I stuck with my own and took the inspiration only.

The great thing about this idea is that you can make a nice large batch of Ratatouille or any nice chunky Vegetarian stew and serve up this way the next day as well with the eggs cooked only on the day of eating.  Now, we have done this dish as described in the cookbook by placing a serving of Ratatouille into an ovenproof dish breaking the egg into a nest formed into the stew.  Then bake the lot in the oven.  It works alright though for me, it's not the most aesthetic serving.  The egg is formless and not evenly cooked.  So this time, I poached the eggs for 4 minutes in advance then finished it in the oven to slightly brown the top. 

Ratatouille with simple Coddled Egg

J's Ratatouille
(Serves 4-6)

1 large Eggplant, chopped 2 cm square (1inch)
1 large Orange Bell Pepper or 2 small, chopped 2 cm
1 medium or 1/2 large Zucchini, sliced 2 cm then halved or quartered
1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped 2 cm
1 large tin Italian Tomatoes
1/2 c dry White Wine
1/2 c Vegetable Broth (or Water)
1 1/2 t fresh Rosemary, chopped
2-3 sprigs fresh Thyme, just toss the cleaned sprig in
2 large Bay Leaves
1 clove Garlic
1 t Paprika
Chili Flakes (optional and just for me)
-keep Cumin out of this! This ain't TexMex
Salt and Pepper
3-4 T Olive Oil

In a large dutch oven, heat half the Olive Oil on Medium High heat.

Add the Vegetables in this suggested order 3 minutes apart, stirring frequently: Onion, Eggplant, Zucchini, Bell Pepper.  Add additional Oil if the bottom starts to dry out.  The Eggplant will absorb Oil like a sponge so be sure to drizzle Oil evenly over everything.  Add the Garlic but do not over brown.  The Garlic should be followed in 1-2 minutes by the Wine.

You can choose to either run a sharp knife around the inside of the tin to break up the Tomatoes or what I prefer, pour into the pot and smush them with your clean hands or to be safer into a bowl first then add them to the pot.

Add the Water and Broth and Herbs and Spices.  Mix thoroughly.  Once it comes to a bubble, turn down to Medium, to Medium Low and cover.  Let simmer for at least 20-30 minutes.  Season to taste.

Preheat the Oven to 350.

You can at this point choose the break the Egg into the dished 1-2 c Ratatouille and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs.

Or if you have time, Poach the eggs for 4 minutes and bake for 5-10 minutes.

Lightly salt the egg before serving.  A mere, tiny pinch.

Sooo Yummo! when the Yolk runs into the stew.  MMMMM

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I completely agree about the yumminess of egg yolk running into ratatouille - divine intersection!

eatgreek.net said...

yummy!!!!! (^_^)

Belinda @zomppa said...

I love the coddled egg! Eating this would make me feel coddled. =)

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

I just got my first Dutch oven so I'm looking for great recipes like this one. Thanks for sharing!

Unknown said...

Eggplant..and Eggs! my 2 absolute favs!!

Looks like a ratatouille weekend coming up!

Me said...

Glad you like it. I agree on Eggplant and Eggs MMMMM. And I luvs my dutchoven too!

Anonymous said...

I can imagine how yummy this tastes. I've always wanted to try ratatouille- I've never made it... I think I'm going to have to try it out soon!