Vero's Kitchen

The authentic Ratatouille recipe, direct from Provence

Ratatouille is one of the most versatile vegetable dishes around. Make it in large quantities so you have left over. It gets better every time you reheat it. You can eat it as a side to meat or fish the first day. The next day you can use the left over as a great pasta sauce. It's also delicious over plain rice.

As lots of healthy foods, it comes to us from the south of France. While I can make a pretty good ratatouille, my husband, a native from Marseille, is really the expert (he'll tell you that people from the north like me don't stand a chance at making the real thing). This is his recipe below. 

What you need (for 6-8 people)

- 2-3 tsp olive oil
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled but kept whole
- 1 large eggplan, cut into 1' cubes
- 1 red and or green bell pepper, cut into 2'x1/3' strips
- 4 zucchini, cut into 1/4' slices
- 8 roma tomatoes (alternatively you can use canned tomatoes), cut into 4 pieces each
- salt and freshly ground pepper

How to make this ratatouille

The first time you make this, you'll want to cut all the veggies first to not be rushed, but as you get familiar with the recipe you can actually cut the veggies as you add them to save time.

In a large pot (ideally a Le Creuset cast iron), heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring to coat with the oil. Add the eggplant, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the bell peppers, stir and cook for another 3-5 minutes with the lid on, stirring about every minute.

Now add the zucchini and tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Cover with the lid and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

That's it. You can serve immediately, or prepare it in advance and reheat before serving.

How To - Cook the perfect french fries at home

According to my friends, I am the Queen of French Fries. Maybe they are just being nice to me (they're my friends), but after all I am French with Belgian roots, so maybe I know a thing or two about les frites.

Here's what you need to make the perfect crispy french fries:

- Russet potatoes - about a big one or two smaller ones per person
- Peanut oil

Set up your electric deep frier with the proper amount of peanut oil. I know, peanut oil... That's an expensive oil to use for frying. But trust me, it really makes a difference. Plus, you can reuse the same oil for at least  5 or 10 batches. Heat the oil to 190 degrees.

While the oil is warming up, prepare a bowl of cold water. Peel the potatoes and put them in the cold water as soon as you're done peeling them, so they won't turn pink.

Slice each potato lengthwise in about 1/3 inch thick slices. Cut each slice in 1/3 inch wide sticks. Return the cut potatoes immediately to the bowl of cold water and let stand for about 5 minutes. The water will get blurry with the starch coming out of the potatoes: that's normal, and that's what you want to see happen.

Discard the starchy water, pour another fresh batch of cold water over the potatoes, let stand for a few minutes and rinse again.

Dry the cut potatoes in a clean dish cloth. This is an important step. If the potatoes aren't dry they won't be as crispy and you risk putting the hot oil on fire. If you prepared more than you can fry in one batch, leave the extra in the cold water so they won't turn pink.

Put the potatoes in the frier, making sure the oil is at the right temperature. If it's not hot enough the fries won't be crisp. Fry for about 5-10 minutes - the duration really depends on your deep frier performance.

Now the pro tip: Line the serving dish with paper towel. Not the prettiest thing but essential to crispy fries. As soon as the fries are done, shake the frying basket to remove as much oil as you can. Dump the fries over in the serving dish and shake the paper towel to absorb any left over big drops of oil. Add salt immediately and serve. NEVER let the cooked fries stand in the frying basket to "keep them warm" - that'd be a sure way to ruin them.

Now serve and enjoy (preferably with your fingers).