cornmeal crusted ratatouille tart

 

original recipe by Ellie Krieger found here

This recipe started out with my last Farmers’ Market trip of the season.

The second I saw the eggplant, I thought back to the time I made ratatouille (after watching the movie). We really liked it! So I began googling different ratatouille recipes and was set on Ellie Krieger’s tart from the moment I laid eyes on it!

Even though I didn’t have a tart pan, I improvised and used my springform pan. Which reminds me: I need to make cheesecake.

The recipe is really pretty simple to make!

First you mix together your crust ingredients: cornmeal, pastry flour, salt, water, butter, and oil, according to the recipe’s directions. I improvised making my crust, too. Since I don’t have a huge food processor and didn’t want to mess with batches, I made the crust old-fashioned by hand kneading it with my pie dough blender.

Then, press it into the pan, making sure it’s pretty even so it will cook evenly.

Blind bake it in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes using aluminum foil and hopefully something a little more substantial than orzo pasta, but it was all I had on hand at the time. Then remove the foil and bake it for another five minutes.

While the crust is baking, thinly slice and prep your veggies for roasting, combining them with olive oil and salt and pepper until coated. You can use this method to roast all kinds of veggies. My favorites are mushrooms and sweet potatoes, but not in this recipe with these ingredients. Ew.

Increase the oven to 400 degrees once your crust is ready and removed from the oven. Set it aside and put your veggies in to roast for about 15 minutes. Watch them so they don’t burn, but you shouldn’t have any problems. While this is happening, sauté your shallots (or use onions if you don’t have shallots) and ready your basil and cheeses. We’re about to start layering. Take the veggies out of the oven, reduce back down to 350 degrees, and let them cool so you can handle them later.

When you’re ready to start layering, remember to make each layer as flat and evenly distributed as possible so as much surface area is covered as possible. You want to get a little of everything in every bite!

The order will look like this: eggplant, then 1/3 of your mozzarella cheese and an even sprinkle of basil on top of the eggplant; zucchini and shallot layer, then another 1/3 of your mozzarella cheese and more basil on top of them; then tomatoes and the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese at the very top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. The beauty of this dish, is that you can potentially have your kitchen clean by the time it comes out of the oven. Or, you know, you can facebook stalk, play solitaire, take a power nap, or something equally productive during that time. It’s up to you, my friend.

     

Serve up a slice and enjoy another wonderful meal you can be proud of! YUM! Thanks, Ellie!

Ellie's Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound top-round London broil or flank steak, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick
• 3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce (check the int'l aisle)
  
• 1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup), divided, for garnish
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

Directions

Rinse and pat the meat dry. Place in a sealable plastic bag or small glass dish. In a medium bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly, and marinate meat in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Reserve the rest of the mixture refrigerated, to dress the salad.

Spray grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat. Grill steak until medium-rare, about 5 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness. JT likes his more medium, so I cooked mine for about 7 on each side. Let rest until room temperature then slice thinly against the grain. Be patient; it's worth it!

Combine lettuce, sliced shallot, cilantro, basil and beef in a salad bowl, reserving a few shallots for garnish. I went light on the shallot, a bit heavier on the cilantro and added corn to it. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with reserved sliced shallots. JT said next time he would love crunchy Asian noodles with it. Sounds good to me!

Original recipe can be found here.