lu stufatu
We should probably call this a method rather than a recipe, as it’s so adaptable that nearly anything goes. Our students call this ‘Salento ratatouille’, and while a bit reductive it isn’t exactly wrong. There are only two firm rules: 1) the denser the vegetable, the smaller it should be cut and earlier it should be added. 2) Salt at the end, with the intent of keeping the vegetables as individual and each as him or herself as possible.
Ingredients
Vegetables. Anything you can sauté will work. Carrots, fennel, onion, potato, celery, etc (very dense) should be cubed as small as a pinky nail. Watery vegetables- tomato, zucchina, melanzane, should be the size of thumb knuckles. Peppers (capsicums) should be somewhere in between.
Olive oil Salt Fresh herbs, anything you consider ‘Mediterranean’.
Grating cheese
Directions
Hit your favourite greengrocery and grab a few of anything you can sauté. Or if you have a garden, grab a colander and make a pass, filling it with anything ripe that can be sautéed.
Wash and cut up everything based on its density. Don’t worry if the pan you choose seems a bit too small for all the volume: a lot of their weight is water and will evaporate away.
Using as little oil as possible sauté the dense vegetables until soft and then remove. Add more oil and do the next batch so that all the vegetables eventually have the softness of very ripe fruit. Do any soft vegetables last, such as tomato, melanzane, zucchina, to keep them as intact as possible.
Add all the ingredients back to the pan and sauté together until satisfied with the textures. Turn off the heat, add salt to taste, a good wine glass of raw oil, the fresh herbs torn up.
Serve warm or better yet, tepid. We serve this alone, in the centre of the plate, signifying that it’s serious enough to hold your attention without anything else. Pass grating cheese at the table. Any left overs are great tosses with pasta or on sandwiches.
Wine: Any non-sweet wine will go with this but consider the dominate flavour. If using a lot of fennel, go with a white or a rosato. If the darker vegetables dominate, go with a red. Or match the seasons, which would indicate something lighter.
