Serious Eats
Ratatouille Menu Cameos, Hmm?
Popeye gave spinach some street cred, and fried green tomatoes went up a few notches after the early '90s film. Will the same go for Pixar's popularization of the stewed veggie dish of the minute?
Celebrated D.C. chef Michel Richard—a favorite source for our Cook the Book series—heard his kids sweating the summer's animated flick and created an appetizer version for his five-month-old brasserie, Central (located a few blocks from the White House). When asked about the recent addition, burly celeb chef Richard got all sappy, thinking about his childhood in Northern France. The dish "was like a sunny warm dream of tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini, with the smell of flowers and basil."
Ahhh, how heart-warming. Kind of like the scene when ruthless critic Anton Ego softens up, daydreaming of his mama's recipe in the idyllic French countryside. Central serves their version chilled-- both because it's summer and since the French are guilty of enjoying the hot dish as a cold leftover from the fridge. Talk about a fancy-pants take on the rustic, age-old recipe. This one is presented on La Quercia Rossa prosciutto and country bread tuile, dressed with feta and basil oil. Any other recent ratatouille cameos on menus?