curry ratatian
Curry Ratatouille (aka "Ratatian") is an idea inspired by Ottolenghi’s “Plenty More” cookbook, with the awesome dish Pixar movie “Ratatouille” using wintery root vegetables. This method of layering vegetables on top of a saucy base is called a 'tian' or 'confit byaldi'
ingredients
2 plum tomatoes
¼ onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp of freshly grated ginger root
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp each of turmeric, paprika, and ground cumin
¼ - ½ tsp cayenne pepper (more if you like spicy!)
½ (120ml) cup water
¼ tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
3 small purple potatoes*, scrubbed
2 small sweet potatoes*, scrubbed
2 carrots*
1 zucchini*
1 yellow squash*
*NOTE: It’s helpful to choose the vegetables that are about the same circumference
method
Preheat oven to 400°F. Blend 1 tomato, onion, garlic, grated ginger, and the spices with the water and salt. Pour into a baking dish. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil.
Using a mandolin, or a really sharp knife, thinly and evenly slice the potatoes, sweet potato, carrots, zucchini, and the other tomato, the thinner, the better!
Make mini-stacks of the slices, in sequence. Arrange these stacks a few at a time into the prepared baking dish in a concentric circles from the outer edge to the inside, fanning them out ever so slightly. “Stand” them up a little, so that you can fit as many vegetable slices snugly in as possible. Save the smaller rounds for the middle circle. Randomly tuck in any leftover slices, if you can.
Drizzle with the another tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover the dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit just inside the dish rim, directly on top of the vegetable arrangement.
Bake for 40 minutes-1 hour (depending on how thick your vegetable slices are), until vegetables are soft, but not limp. Take it out of the oven and enjoy!
See also the traditional Ratatouille or Thai Green Curry #ratatian variations.
