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France, Europe · Ratatouille

Confit Byaldi (Spiral Ratatouille)

A restaurant-style ratatouille: wafer-thin vegetables fanned in a spiral over a sweet pepper sauce and baked low and slow until meltingly tender.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time1 h 45 min
DifficultyHard

Method

  1. Finely dice the pepper and onion into 5 mm pieces and mince the garlic. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a 20 cm pan and cook the pepper and onion over medium heat until very soft. Add the garlic, crushed tomatoes and 1 thyme sprig and cook for in total, until thick and jammy with no watery liquid left. Remove the thyme and season. This is your piperade.

    Add in this stepRed bell pepper 1Onion 70 gGarlic (cloves) 1Canned crushed tomatoes 150 gThyme (sprigs) ¾Extra virgin olive oil ½ tbspSalt and pepper to taste

    medium heat

  2. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Slice the aubergine, courgette and tomatoes into even 2 mm rounds; choosing vegetables of a similar width makes the spiral look neat. If you use a mandoline, always use the hand guard.

    Add in this stepSlim aubergine (eggplant) 180 gCourgette (zucchini) 180 gFirm tomatoes (4–5 cm across) 180 g

  3. Spread the piperade over the base of a 20 cm round baking dish (or ovenproof pan). Starting at the edge and working inwards, stand the slices up in a tight spiral, alternating aubergine, courgette and tomato and overlapping each by about two thirds.

  4. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil, strip thyme leaves over the top and season. Cut baking paper to fit the dish and press it directly onto the vegetables. Bake in the oven at 150°C for , until a knife slides in with no resistance. Remove the paper and bake for more to colour the edges lightly.

    Add in this stepExtra virgin olive oil 1½ tbspThyme (sprigs) 2¼Salt and pepper to taste

    oven

  5. In a small bowl, whisk the dressing oil, balsamic vinegar, parsley and a pinch of salt with a fork.

    Add in this stepExtra virgin olive oil (for the dressing) 1½ tbspBalsamic vinegar 1 tspChopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tbspSalt and pepper to taste

  6. Let the dish stand for so the juices settle. Lift out portions with a wide spatula, fan them in the centre of each plate, spoon some of the sauce from the dish alongside and drizzle with the dressing.

Cook's tip

Uneven slices cook at different speeds, so consistent 2 mm slices are the key to success. Pressing the paper onto the vegetables stops them drying out and lets them cook gently in their own juices.

Cooking it at camp

Without an oven, build the spiral in a heavy cast-iron pan, cover with a lid and cook on the lowest flame for 40–50 minutes. You get less colour on top, but plenty of flavour. Slice the vegetables at home and pack them in a box lined with kitchen paper.