Recipe contributed by Chef Stephane Saint Louis, Table Culture Provisions, Petaluma
Ingredients
- 6 medium Early Girl tomatoes
- 6 summer squash
- 4 Japanese eggplant
- 2 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow sweet onion
- 1 tablespoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons chili flakes
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed with skin on
- ¼ cup white wine
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- ¼ cup chicken stock (can substitute vegetable stock or water)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 bunch basil leaves picked from the stems
- ¼ cup parsley, roughly chopped
Preparation
Dice the tomatoes, squash and Japanese eggplant into ½-inch cubes. Dice the bell pepper into ¼-inch cubes. Finely chop the yellow onion. In a skillet, slightly toast the fennel seed, oregano, thyme and chili flakes, then transfer to a mortar pestle and pound until coarse.
In a pan, heat oil to a slight smoke and caramelize the eggplants. Remove from the pan and then set aside. In the same pan, drizzle more oil and cook the diced squash until softened, set aside with the eggplant. Drizzle more olive oil into the same pan and sweat the onion, bell pepper and smashed garlic.
Add the white wine to the pan and continue to cook until the liquid evaporates. Add the tomato paste and the diced tomatoes. Return the eggplant and squash to the pan, then raise the heat just a bit, then add the toasted spices and lower the heat. Allow the mixture to gently simmer for about 20 minutes. Add the chicken stock and cook until most of the liquid evaporates—approximately an additional 15 minutes.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
Add the basil leaf and allow the flavors to infuse for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top and serve.
