Harvest Season’s Greatest Ritual: Rat Weekend
Not a dirty sewer rat. A well-kept rat that wears a chef hat and can cook like a boss🐀
It’s Ratatouille Weekend AKA Rat Weekend!
My favorite weekend of the whole year, and it can only happen during harvest season when the produce at the farmers market is exploding.
The first rule of rat weekend is DON’T TALK ABOUT RAT WEEKEND, just kidding. The weekend starts with a list of produce that we need to hunt for at the Farmer’s markets. This is a CRUCIAL part of the process. The vegetables are not masked by any protein, fancy sauces, or cheese, so the veggies must be the freshest and ripest you can find.
This recipe is NOT worth making if you are resorting to third-party distributors ie. the grocery store. I can’t think of anything worse than going through all this work and having the end result be a big pot of bland mush. (No offense, grocery store veg, but sometimes you really just don’t cut it). Save yourself from this obomination! We apply this same fresh is best mentality to the beloved tomato sandwich. We wouldn’t dare make one of these summer gems with a store-bought tomato. Right??
The ingredient list:
Zucchini
Yellow squash
Onion
Garlic
Tomatoes
Red peppers
Eggplant
Basil
Thyme
That is ALL!
Oh, okay, oil, salt, and pepper. Oh, one more thing. I did put a nice glug of white wine vinegar to deglaze the pots. Oh, and I added honey to help balance out the acidity from the tomatoes. It was a nice touch.
Ratatouille is a simple yet flavorful French vegetable stew, and traditionally it was considered a poor person’s dish made with the bounty of produce during harvest season. I would argue that in today’s world, having access to a bounty of farm-fresh produce is more of a luxury and one that I am grateful to have access to. It can be served with a crusty bread, pasta, alongside your favorite protein, topped with fried eggs, or just eaten with a heaping pile of basil as a light supper.
The second rule of rat weekend is PATIENCE.
In theory, it doesn’t take that long to make one batch. I really lean into the theme and go full force with an x4 batch! Nowhere to be, no one to report to, just me and a mountain of vegetables that are ready to light this kitchen up with some insane aromas. I have a history of rushing the process, so this is really a lesson to myself. Be patient and enjoy the process.
The third rule of rat weekend is GO BIG OR GO HOME.
Plan to make the biggest batch of Ratatouille that you can manage. This usually boils down to pot size (but really check those pots, friends). There is nothing worse than finding out mid-kitchen sesh that you have a size issue and now your eggplants won’t fit🍆! Don’t try to squeeze everything into that pot, yes, that one, you will have to break it down into separate, smaller batches. I have never once uttered OMG, what am I going to do with all these deliciously prepared vegetables. Squirrel it away for a rainy day, donate to a neighbor, have a dinner party, or just buckle down and eat your veggies!
The fourth rule of rat weekend is GET ORGANIZED.
There are a few different ways to make this dish, and I go with the stove-top stew method. Every vegetable gets sautéed in oil separately. This is a CRUCIAL step in the process, no matter how big or small your batch is. The vegetables all cook at different rates, and you don’t want to end up with a big pot of flavorful mush. I went full force and did a 4x batch. I go on ratios, not exact measurements, with this recipe, so no big deal if you shorted yourself an eggplant cause you were craving baba ghanoush (a delectable, smoky, garlicky eggplant dip).
All veggies get cut and then placed on their designated sheet pan, awaiting their time to really shine. In goes the yellow squash, next the zucchini. Keep in mind, I am working multiple pots here because otherwise I would be in the kitchen for twice as long, and while I told you to have patience, I don’t expect you to have that much. If you are doing a single batch, you could get away with only using one pot.
One by one into the pot, and when they are done (soft but not mushy), I give them a big ole dump into MEGA pot where everything will stew together at the end. Once the last of the veggies goes into mega pot, it’s time to get your witches’ brew on and stir everything together, and let the flavors meld into a bright, fresh summer stew that tastes like sunshine and basil.
At this point, hours have passed. Multiple cups of coffee have been consumed, and I have stocked myself up for the winter. And nothing is better than on the darkest, coldest day, you can reach into the freezer and pull out a container of peak-season veggies that taste like gold. If you give yourself a gift, let it be meals for the future. It really is the best gift on the planet to have something homemade and satisfying when you are too tired, too lazy, or too can’t be bothered to cook for yourself. (We all know this feeling.)
Rat weekend is a time of productivity, patience, and celebrating harvest season. My pairing for Ratatouille is simple and humble, like the origins of the dish.
Served in a large bowl topped with poached eggs, sprinkled with extra extra extra basil, a slice or two of the crustiest bread you can find, enjoyed with a friend/family/cat, eaten outside in the fresh air, I poured a healthy glass of crisp white wine, and enjoyed the spoils of my labour.
Here is a recipe you can loosely follow to get you started on your Rat Weekend Adventures!
Share with someone who would enjoy getting down and dirty for a Rat-filled weekend!
Cheers,
Nicole | Butter Cult
