Rouget stuffed with Ratatouille
This recipe is a three-in-one combination of my mother's ratatouille and tapenade for a delicious stuffed rouget.
Equipment
Ingredients
Tapenade Recipe
- 2 cups Kalamata Olives
- 4 tbsp capers
- 1 tin Anchovies
- 8 Fresh Basil Leaves
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
Ratatouille Recipe
- 2 Japanese Eggplants diced
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 1 Sweet Onion diced
- 2 Greens Pepper diced
- 3 Zucchini diced
- 4 Garlic cloves mashed
- 4 Tomatoes skinned and chopped
- 1 cup Fresh Basil chopped
- Salt and Pepper
Additional Ingredients
- 4 Rouget or Small Red Snapper remove head and bones
- 4 Zucchini Blossoms
- 3 tbsp Quality Olive Oil
Instructions
Make the Ratatouille
- Submerge the eggplant in ice-cold water and let it sit for 10 minutes to remove any bitterness. After reading a cookbook on Japanese cuisine, I started soaking eggplant rather than salting, which I found works better.
- Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed stockpan and sauté onions and peppers together over low to medium heat till softened and translucent, about 10 minutes.
- Drain eggplants well and add to onions and peppers. Continue cooking for another ten to fifteen minutes. The eggplant won’t be fully cooked but will be on the way.
- Add zucchini, garlic, and tomatoes and continue cooking on low heat till tender, about thirty minutes. Add basil, salt, and pepper and cook for 5 more minutes.
- If you want, drizzle with a really fruity flavoured olive oil and sprinkle on finely grated Parmesan. Even a poached egg served on top is incredible.
Make the Tapenade
- Drain your olives well. Put everything in your food processor and pulse to the texture you like. Yes, it is as simple as that. Tapenade has a long shelf life, although my tapenade never lasts more than a meal or two.
Rouget stuffed with Ratatouille
- Put 1 tablespoon of tapenade between the 2 fish fillets. Stuff one tablespoon of cold ratatouille into the bottom of a zucchini blossom. Put the fish into the zucchini blossom.
- Drizzle with olive and bake in a 450°F (235°C) oven for about 10 minutes.
Notes
This may seem a long and complicated recipe to some. To me, this is a quick and easy dish utilizing components I usually have already made. Both tapenade and ratatouille are great dishes to have laying around at all times. If friends stop by unexpectedly you can put a spoonful of tapenade on a cucumber slice or tartine and have a quick snack. Ratatouille makes a great light dinner or omelette mixed with goat cheese.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!