Ratatouille with Sausage and Cornmeal Biscuits

Fall Festivals

Meadowbreeze Park. Vicki Smith. 5x7”

Hello,

Autumn brings winter squash, beets, brussel sprouts, carrots, potatoes, and fall festivals. The festivals are geared towards families, with pumpkin and apple picking and hayrides among the activities. The week before Halloween a Fall Fest was planned in a local town that is anchored at one end by an art museum where I occasionally volunteer. For the festival, I was enlisted to paint children’s faces along with one other volunteer, Ms.“M”. When Ms.“M” discovered that I was an artist she asked to see my work so I pulled out my phone that also doubles as a portfolio in today’s world. She claimed to be a “mere housewife” but seemed well-versed in the use of pastels. She queried me about what type of paper and pastels I use and then immediately looked them up online. This should have clued me into the amount of detail that was about to come. I was using the supplies provided by the museum, but Ms.“M” had brought her own extensive palette of oil-based face paint. She also had wisely drawn about a dozen examples of designs for the children to choose from. When she handed me some of the designs for my own use, I cheekily replied that I was just going to “wing it”.

The children, mostly girls, began lining up for face painting once the event opened. The children all picked from among the designs that they could preview and I was forced to copy Ms. “M”'s creations. As quickly as one child slid off the plastic folding chair, another appeared. I felt inadequate to both Ms.“M”'s superior supplies and her commitment to the process. With each child’s lopsided butterfly or tiger, I felt that I had fallen short until they smiled broadly after looking at their reflection in the hand mirror. Toward the end of the evening, I heard one father remark, “ That woman (Ms. M.) closer to the door is very detail-oriented, but the other one (me) is very fast.

Photo by Vicki Smith

The recipe for a “Ratatouille and Sausage Potpie with Cornmeal Biscuits” appeared in the New York Times over ten years ago and was authored by, I believe, Alex Witchel. It is somewhat time-consuming but is worth the effort and is the perfect dish for this time of year. I made some alterations to the recipe in that I cut the amount of sausage in half, added butternut squash, increased the ratio of cornmeal to flour for the biscuits, and baked the biscuits separately from the ratatouille so that they would retain their texture. The dish takes about an hour and a half from start to finish and feeds six. Preparing the biscuit dough ahead of time is helpful.

Ingredients for the Biscuits

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. cornmeal

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

6 T. cold butter, cut into pieces

3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt

Ingredients for the Ratatouille

1 large eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 medium butternut squash, cut into 1-inch pieces

7 T. olive oil

3/4 t. black pepper

1 T. salt

1/2 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed

1 large onion, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 red pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces

3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 1/2 lb.s plum tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh basil or parsley

Directions for the Biscuits

Whisk together all dry ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Fold in the yogurt. Gently knead until it comes together in a ball, adding a touch of milk, if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Directions for the Ratatouille

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a bowl, toss eggplant, zucchini, and butternut with 5 T. of olive oil. Season with 3/4 t. salt and 3/4 t. pepper. Spread vegetables in a single layer on one or two baking sheets. Roast for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally. In the meantime, heat a large skillet with 1T. olive oil. Crumble sausage into skillet and cook over medium-high heat until cooked all the way through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer sausage to a paper towel-lined plate. Return the skillet to the heat and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onion, red pepper, garlic, and 1/4 t. salt. Cook until softened, 5-7 minutes. Coarsely chop the plum tomatoes, add to the skillet, and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in the sausage, roasted vegetables, and basil or parsley. Simmer over low heat until your biscuits are ready to come out of the oven.

Roll out the biscuit dough on a floured board until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out biscuits with a round cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. Bake biscuits at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until browned slightly.

Serve the ratatouille in a bowl topped with a biscuit.

Thanks for reading, liking, commenting, and sharing!

Vicki