Localvore: Try ratatouille on the grill

Editor's note: This Localvore column first ran on Sept.12, 2010

Here's an unbeatable combination in my book: end-of-summer vegetables, a Julia Child recipe and a quick-heating gas grill. I can smell the perfume of tomatoes, olive oil and roasted vegetables just by sitting at my computer and recalling last week's ratatouille.

The vegetable stew always has been one of my favorite dishes, but a seldom-prepared one because, as Julia notes, "A really good ratatouille is not one of the quicker dishes to make, as each element is cooked separately before it is arranged in the casserole to partake of a brief communal simmer."

Julia is right about the importance of cooking the vegetables separately, but that was my problem -- that and the olive oil. Making ratatouille used to mean endless time over the stove turning slices of eggplant as they soaked up a paycheck's worth of extra-virgin olive oil.

Then came the night when I sliced some zucchini the long way, tossed it with a bit of olive oil and threw it on the grill next to some burgers. Epiphany. Grilling transformed zucchini from tasteless filler to concentrated essence of squash.

Hmm, I thought. What if I grilled the vegetables for the ratatouille? Quicker, less caloric (less olive oil), plus the extra roasted flavor from the grill. I've never looked back.

This recipe is still not jet-propelled, nothing to make when the kids are screaming for dinner in half an hour. But given a bit of weekend time, it's pretty easy to double or triple this recipe -- I always do, especially in August -- and make enough for tonight's dinner, with leftovers to serve hot over pasta the next night, and enough left (this is very filling, after all) to serve cold with meat and potatoes the night after that.

Actually, I've been known to eat this ratatouille for breakfast. It's that good.

Ratatouille

(from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1, modified for the grill)

Note: I often start with 2 pounds of eggplant, quadrupling the other ingredients as I go. Also, I've found the proportions of the vegetables needn't be set in stone -- if eggplant is your passion, throw more in. Just don't skimp on the onions and garlic. The amounts here are Julia's original recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound eggplant

1/2 pound zucchini

1 teaspoon salt

Olive oil for tossing the vegetables

1/2 pound (about 1 1/2 cups) thinly sliced yellow onions

2 sliced green peppers (I prefer red peppers and substitute them)

2 cloves mashed garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound firm, ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and gently squeezed to remove some juice

3 tablespoons minced parsley

DIRECTIONS:

Note: If the eggplant and zucchini are truly young and fresh, you can skip the following 30-minute salting ritual and go straight to the grill.

1. Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 3/8 inch thick. Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends and cut it into lengthwise slices, also about 3/8 inch thick. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon of salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.

2. Brush the slices with a little olive oil, or dump them in a clean bowl, pour on some olive oil and toss them. Turn on the gas grill and heat to about 350 degrees. When it is hot, turn off the middle of the three burners (or one of two, if that's what you have), put the eggplant and zucchini on the grill, close the lid, and turn the remaining burners to medium or low. (This depends on your grill. The purpose is to grill the vegetables without burning them.) Grill on one side until browned (this takes 5 minutes on my grill), flip and continue cooking until soft.

3. In a big skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil for 10 minutes or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste. Slice the tomato into 1/3-inch strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have begun to render their juices. Raise heat and boil for several minutes until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

4. Cut the cooked eggplant and zucchini into bite-sized pieces. Put a third of the tomato mixture into a 2 1/2 quart fireproof casserole and sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of parsley. Arrange half the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomato mixture and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini and finish with remaining tomatoes and parsley. Cover the casserole. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Baste with the juices. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, basting several times until only a few spoons of juices are left.

Serves 6 to 8 people.