Cooking For Engineers

Anonymouse · Guest

I've made it twice and each time it turned out great. It is one of the best pure vegetable dishes I've ever had. The thing about the eggplant, I've never had a problem with eggplant. Ever. I don't know where you are getting yours but every eggplant I've used has not been bitter. Maybe you need to find a better source or pick out a younger plant.

I pretty much followed this recipe exactly as is except I put the onions in first and then the garlic. This allows the garlic to have less cooking time in the oil and not be burned. I wonder what other variations this dish could have. Any thoughts?

lbcuadrado · Guest

I loved, I mean loved this dish. My partner is a vegetarian and we were looking for some added protein, so we added chick peas and 1/4 c. more veg stock and 1/2 the liquid from the diced tomatoes... amazing. Go for it, you won't be sorry.

Robyn · Guest

We cooked the ratatouille last weekend from this recipe and it was AMAZING! Even my veggie-phobic husband loved and and took leftovers to work! Thanks for the recipe!!

Frenchy · Guest

Hi !

Just wanted to say, great recipe ! I had everything prepared, then something urgent came up. (ha, being a mom...) So I just dumped it all in my crockpot and left it on high for 4 hours; it turned out amazing !!!

It was just a bit too liquid, so next time I'll cut the broth in half (or add cornstarch like I did this time)

I served it over pasta with cheese melted on top. Great way to pass vegetables to picky eaters. Especially since the eggplant totally disappears, No-one knew that they were eating the weird purple thing everyone eeewwwed at and poked when it came from the market... LOL

ttmich · Guest

I am very impressed with the presentation of the recipes. The step-by-step instruction is very easy to follow accompanied by the excellent pictures. The chart is the master stroke: it summarizes each step, includes each ingredient and cooking times. Just follow the chart and you can easily cook the meal !

Guest · Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:57 pm Post subject:

I add a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end before serving. It enlivens this dish and helps bring the flavors together even more.

Guest · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2010 5:24 pm Post subject:

added a hot pepper

Ka pow it was great

Argenta · Guest

...this method is actually not unusual...

it's the base for most dishes in the filipino culture, and if you do it right (low heat, etc) the dishes taste amazing. it's not exactly a secret...

aly · Guest

i remember printing out this recipe a long time ago. i couldn't find it on google again, but i'm so happy i did. i love this version of ratatouille. i don't particularly like eggplant, so i leave that out. some of the other recipes call for potatoes and other peppers. i said to myself "that's not the recipe i used before! i want the one that i had!"

AussieMom · Guest

Made this last night in lieu of a trip to Paris. My son was reading the book Ratatouile and all of a sudden asks if we can go to Paris. I asked him why and he said we have to go to Gustav's (or something - sorry, never saw the movie) since he makes the best ratatouille. So, we looked up airfares and found out that we couldn't afford to go to Paris, but instead, why don't we see what ratatouille is and if we can make it. I found this website, and am now a believer. Turns out, it is the easiest dish to make, but very flavorful. We ate ours with warm French bread.

Also, once everything is chopped up, my 8-year-old son was able to make it easily, with supervision of course :-> The only thing I would change is that I would put the eggplant as the first veggie and let that cook for awhile until it gets soft, then add the rest of the ingredients. That way, the other ingredients won't turn to mush as well...although, I did like it mushy like this, especially to dip the bread in, but it doesn't look as pretty as your picture.

By the way, I followed everything exactly as you have it listed and it really was yumbo! Thank you so much for this!

Dilbert · Joined: 19 Oct 2007 Posts: 1307 Location: central PA

>>instead of going to Paris. . .

heehee. indeed an economical dish!

amberorange · Guest

I made this and it was incredible. My husband, an avid MEAT and potato guy, loved this. Really he loved it. I tried it the next day cold on some toast and it was so so yummy. Thank you.

wannaB chef · Guest

I just seen another recipe for rat (as I am looking up recipes for it so I can cook it) and I noticed a variation. Although most all of the ingredients between your web page and the other was the same, the differance was they added Parmesian cheese and your doesn't. Any difference? Or is it still the same with just an extra added goodie?

Guest · Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 6:49 pm Post subject: Mushrooms and Ratatouille

Mushrooms are a great addition to ratatouille. I had a Francophile complain about the mushrooms until they ate the meal. Then they agreed that it was acceptable. Your recipe is five-star!

Guest · Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 11:35 pm Post subject: Eggplant sex

When cooking eggplant, the sex of the eggplant makes a difference in flavor and texture.

Female eggplants have more seeds and a more bitter flavor. Conversely, male eggplants have fewer seeds and are much less bitter. Female eggplants tend to need to be salted and have the exuded moisture removed, while male eggplants don't.

To tell the sex of an eggplant, look at the indentation at bottom. If it's deep and shaped like a dash, it's a female. If it's shallow and round, it's a male.