Disney's Ratatouille (Confit Byaldi)

Written by Alvin Tang | Photo Cred: Wendy Chan

It's always such an adventure walking through any farmer's market, but Union Square is always an special pleasure. I love walking around educating myself on what produce is in season. An education you don't get walking through a chain supermarket where the produce has traded their souls for immortality. I always like bringing a little notebook with me just to jot down any produce I don't recognize that I might want to experiment with later. When the summer months come I always ALWAYS look forward to the blueberries. Oh the ever so beautiful and sweet blueberries. Sometimes I let them overshadow the other produce and that's just not fair.

For an impromptu dinner party one bright Saturday, I had to look beyond the berries of blue and caught my eye on some beautiful greens, yellows, reds, and purples. The immediate image of little Remy scurried across my mind. The colors are unmistakable and so iconic. It was perfect for the night's party. So I grabbed some zucchini, some summer squash, some ripe tomatoes, and some Japanese eggplants chopped away!

This ratatouille was full of improvisation, which in my opinion is a great way to develop new recipes. Many recipes will require a blender and for making a smooth sauce base out of a classic mirepoix (diced celery, onion and carrot) along with some roasted bell peppers, BUT I didn't have any of those in the fridge. I decided to go basic that still turned out to be delicious and much simpler, especially if you don't have a blender. *raises hand* Instead I used some pantry staples that hopefully most of you will already have (olives, canned/jarred artichoke hearts, garlic and canned crushed tomatoes). No blending required.

Then came the fun part. If you've never tried meditation or have tried and failed, make ratatouille asap. Not only did the slicing require a heap tablespoon of mindfulness (points for not using a mandoline), but placing the vegetable medallions neatly in a orderly pattern fanning around the pan involves precision and intricacy and really involves focus. It's not complicated; you just need to focus and you kind of lose yourself in the process. You'll be very proud of yourself when you're done.

1/2 zucchini, sliced thin
1/2 yellow summer squash, sliced thin
1/2 medium japanese eggplant, sliced thin
3 ripe plum tomatoes, sliced thin
1 - 15oz. can of crushed tomatoes
2 shishito peppers, finely chopped
2 small fresh chili peppers, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried peppers flakes)
4 small green olives, minced
2 marinated artichoke hearts, minced
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of fresh basil
2 sprigs of fresh thyme (a pinch of dried thyme)
olive oil
salt
pepper
10" round baking dish (I used a cast iron skillet)
a medium saucepan
parchment paper cut into a circle used to cover the pan (aluminum will work too)

In a medium saucepan, heat up a tbsp of olive oil to medium low heat.
When oil is hot add chopped garlic, olives, artichoke hearts, shishito peppers and chili peppers. Season with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minutes until oil is infused and all are softened.
Add crushed tomatoes and basil leaves and turn up heat to medium high.
When sauce begins to boil, stir gently, turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and keep covered.
cover your baking dish with a thin layer of olive oil (about 1 tsp). Use a brush or paper towel.
Spoon a thick even layer of your sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish.
Preheat your oven to 325°F.
Now take your sliced disks, arrange them in an alternating fashion (such as eggplant, squash, tomato and zucchini).
Continually place this same pattern of disks around the baking dish as shown in the photos until you've reached a complete circle.
Repeat with the inner part of the pan until you've completely covered the pan and it looks like a lollipop.
drizzle about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a circular motion on top of the vegetables. Then season with salt, pepper and thyme leaves.
Cover with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the rest of the sauce into a bowl to use on the finished product.
Take the dish out and plate with some tomato sauce and a nice slice of crusty toasted bread.

**We highly recommend enjoying this meal with family and/or friends.