Provençal meets Masala in this Indian-spiced variation on ratatouille.
Ratatouille Masala? Provençala? Rajatouille?
A friend first introduced me to Francis Lam’s sublime and utterly killer Weapons-Grade Ratatouille a few years ago, saying, “This is the only ratatouille recipe you need.” She was 100% correct. Sure, I like playing around with variations on ratatouille and always will, but when I want the straightforward, real-deal, gestalt of the thing, I never turn anywhere else now. Rearrange whatever plans you need to in order to make his original recipe as soon as you possibly can. (Bonus: just reading the recipe and accompanying text is a good time.)
Then, if you DO feel like experimenting, consider giving this one a try. I had the brainstorm way back in February, while watching “The Hundred Foot Journey”, realizing the eggplant and tomatoes would make this a great template for French-Indian fusion. And yet: February. So I’ve been sitting on that concept for over 6 months – and the time is now.
Because I’m so enamored with Lam’s method (oh tomato jam, how you send me), I still used his overall approach here and all credit is thoroughly due to him. …