”Voila! Summer on your plate!”

In this video, Bruno Albouze of Bruno’s Kitchen shares his family’s traditional baked ratatouille recipe. He says that his parents live in a small village in the south of France, where his father grows beautiful vegetables in the garden and his mother is famous for her wonderful vegetable ratatouille and couscous.

THE RECIPE:

1 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
2 chopped celery stalks
1 tbsp butter and olive oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 yellow bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper, charred and peeled with the seeds and ribs removed
1 can crushed tomato
1 tsp herbes de Provence
salt and pepper to taste
6 fresh basil leaves
2 yellow squash sliced into 1/1 inch rounds
2 zucchinis sliced into 1/16 inch rounds
2 Japenese eggplants sliced into 1/16 inch rounds
6 Roma tomatoes sliced into 1/16 inch rounds
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp chopped thyme leaves

Char bell peppers over the flame of the stove until blackened. Put roasted peppers into a bowl then cover with plastic wrap and steam for fifteen minutes.

While the peppers are steaming, chop the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic, and slice the zucchini, yellow squash, Japanese eggplant, and tomato into 1/16 inch rounds. Open peppers, remove seeds, then chop them into small pieces.

Saute carrots, onion, and celery in oil over low heat for about ten minutes. Add garlic and cook for about three more minutes, stir in peppers and herbs de Provence, then cook down for about 20 minutes. Remove mixture from heat and gently puree with basil, then add puree back into pan.

Arrange the sliced vegetables in alternating strips on top of the puree, then season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and thyme. Cover with foil then bake for three hours at 280 degrees. Right before serving, bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

PROS:

The sounds of Bruno’s Kitchen are wonderful: the sizzling peppers, crackling foil, and satisfying snap of chopped vegetables really add to the viewing experience.

CONS:

There is some strange editing at the beginning, including some confusing footage of Bruno preparing and eating a chocolate cake.

THE TAKEAWAY:

A lively host and a gorgeous summery recipe.

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