Ratatouille and Buttermilk Biscuits

Ratatouille is one of my most recent favorites. I love meals that can be cooked in one big pot for hours, and enjoyed for days. I usually make this when i have a variety of veggies to cook that dont have much shelf life left. I also really enjoy this recipe with buttermilk biscuits.

Ingredients:Onion and garlic,diced. Tomato paste, chicken broth, any variety of vegetables chopped evenly. I prefer to not use any leafy veggies, like broccoli, because this stew cooks for so long they wont hold. I usually use: eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, any color pepper, zuccini or cucumber, squash, mushrooms, and carrots. Using as many colors as you can makes this dish really gorgeous. I also use whatever fresh herbs i have on hand. Rosemary and thyme are my favorites! I also like to add a lot of grated parmeseano,regianno,asciago, or any other aged sharp cheese to the top of this when im serving it!

To start, chop everything...this takes a while...then add the onion and garlic into the bottom of a big stew pot with a drizzle of olive oil. Cook until tender and fragrant. Add a big tablespoon of tomato paste to the bottom of the pan, stir and cook until the paste starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Deglaze (remove the bits that are stuck to the pan by pouring something on it and scraping with a wooden spoon) the pan with chicken stock( about a cup, more if you want this to be more soupy) and let that simmer. Add all of your veggies and turn the heat down to a medium low, cover and WALK AWAY. This is a great recipe because after these steps, you are basically done. During this time I like to prepare my buttermilk biscuits.

Biscuits: Ingredients: 3 cups of self rising flour, 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, 1/2 cup of butter
Make sure your butter is room tempurature. Baking is like science, you have to be exact to procedure (which is why Im no good at baking, but I am good at making these!) so follow these steps.
1.put the flower in a big bowl
2. chop your soft butter into squares and add it to the bowl, i like to mix this with my hands like a pie crust, making sure all of the butter is incorporated. It should end up in small pea size balls in the flour
3. make a hole in the flour mixture and add the buttermilk. I use a wood spatula to FOLD the flour around the buttermilk. Overworking these biscuits is a big no no. Fold it just enough so the buttermilk is dispersed, and then dump the mix onto a floured surface. Fold into a dough with your hands. It will seem a little uneven but thats good. You want some parts of the dough to be floury and others lumpy with butter. The best part about these little guys is how flaky and light they are!
4. I use a wine glass to cut the biscuits out because i dont have a cookie cutter, but if you have one. Use it!
5. put them in the oven at about 350f until they are golden brown. YUM!!!

Ratatouille continued...
Once the stew has been simmering for an hour or so, I add my herbs. You dont even have to take the leafy parts off the stem because they will just fall off while cooking, however, if you do this you have to fish out the stems later. Add some s&p to taste, recover, and let cook for another hour.

Thats it! I made this last week and its always such a hit. I just finished the leftovers last night! My boyfriend really likes to mix this with a marinara sauce pasta (typical italian) but i tried it and its really good!
Till next time...