Sous Vide Ratatouille

Ratatouille is the best use of summer vegetables I can think of, but it is hard to do right on the stove-top. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and squash all require different cooking times and can easily turn to mush. To perfect the dish, I turned to the Anova Precision Cooker -- I seal each element in its own bag with aromatics and olive oil and combine them all just before serving. You can't get much better than this.

Author

Kate Itrich-Williams

Prep Time: 00:30

Recipe Time: 02:00

Temperature : 185F / 85C

Ingredients

• 3 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick planks
• 3 medium tomatoes, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced into 2-inch-wide planks
• 1 medium eggplant, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch wedges
• Kosher salt
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• 10 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 5 tablespoons (74 mL) extra virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
• 5 sprigs fresh basil, plus more chopped basil for serving

Directions

1. Set the Anova Sous Vide Precision Cooker to 185ºF (85ºC).
2. Place the zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, eggplant, and onion each in its own large zipper lock or vacuum seal bag. Season with salt and pepper flakes.
3. Divide the garlic between the bags. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 sprig basil to each bag. Seal the bags using the water immersion technique or a vacuum sealer on the moist setting.
4. Place the bags in the water bath and set the timer for 30 minutes. If using zipper lock bags, you will need to weigh down the bags.
5. When the timer goes off, remove the bag with the tomatoes and set aside. Set the timer for 30 more minutes.
6. When the timer goes off, remove the bags with the zucchini and peppers. Set aside. Set the timer for 1 hour.

Finishing Steps

1. When the 1 hour timer goes off, remove the bags with the eggplant and onion from the water bath.
2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl. Discard garlic, basil, and cooking liquid. Use the side of the spoon to roughly chop tomatoes.
3. Using the slotted spoon or your hands, remove each remaining vegetable from its bag. Discard garlic, basil, and cooking liquid. Roughly chop each vegetable and transfer to the bowl with the tomatoes.
4. Stir to mix well. Season to taste with salt, olive oil, and additional basil. Serve at room temperature.