Fall (and Summer!) Vegetable Ragout

It seems apropos to launch this blog with a celebration of Alice Waters. Michael has most of her cookbooks. His craft is in knowing, based on the season and his own evolution in taste and ability, what to try and when.

Here's is what we nearly fell out of our chairs about last night. It was really diffcult to save half of it for another meal, but we will be glad we did:

Fall Vegetable Ragoǔt
from “The Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook” Alice Waters, 1982, Random House, NY. P. 140.

Serves 4

1 large, very ripe tomato
1 red onion
6 to 8 mushrooms
1 small zuchinni
¼ pound green beans
1 medium sweet red pepper
12 to 14 fresh basil leaves
2 to 3 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 clove garlic
¼ cup virgin olive oil
about ½ cup chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
unsalted butter to taste
lemon juice

Peel, seed, and dice 1 very ripe tomato. Thin-slice 1 red onion, and quarter 6 to 8 mushrooms. Slice 1 small zuchinni into ¼-inch rounds. Top and tail ¼ pound green beans and French-cut them. [NOTE: Michael didn’t French cut the beans. They were fresh from our garden, picked earlier in the day, and were, instead, blanched, transferred to ice, then cut into 1 to 1-1/2-inch long pieces---very good!]. Stem and seed 1 red pepper and cut it into thin slices. Stem 6 or 7 basil leaves, 2 to 3 sprigs parsley, and 2 sprigs thyme, and mince them finely with 1 clove of garlic.

Blanch the green beans [as above] for 4 minutes, refresh [in ice water, to stop the cooking], drain, then set aside. Heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan and add the sliced mushroom, the onion, the red pepper and a little salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes over medium-low heat. When the vegetables have softened slightly, add the tomato, the minced herbs, the zucchini, and a little chicken broth for moisture. (At this point only about ¼ cup of the broth will be needed). Season again lightly with salt and pepper. Light seasoning should follow each addition, as it helps the vegetable flavors come together.

Lower the heat, cover and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the vegetables are just crisp and tender. Add the blanched green beans, and season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Add 6 to 7 whole basil leaves, and more olive oil and unsalted butter to taste, and stir the ragout over high heat for ½ minute. The vegetables’ flavors should marry in a rich spicy sauce, but the vegetables should remain crisp.