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When Pixar made the film Ratatouille, they engaged Thomas Keller in a consulting capacity. The producers spent time in Keller’s kitchen at the French Laundry to get a feel for how a commercial kitchen operates. They also asked Keller “if you wanted to serve Ratatouille to a restaurant critic, how would you prepare it?” The result is, essentially, this recipe. If you’ve seen the film, you’ll recognize almost every step in the preparation.
A couple of notes. First, this calls for Japanese eggplant which I’ve always included. I couldn’t find it this weekend, so I just omitted it. If you can find it, definitely use it. Second, I generally use an oval dish so I can spiral the vegetables out from the center. I didn’t have access to one this weekend, so I just went with rows in a rectangular dish.
Julio's Delicatessen 