Confit byaldi is a variation on the traditional French dish ratatouille by the French chef Michel Guérard.

History

The name is a play on the Turkish dish " İmam bayıldı", which is a stuffed

eggplant Eggplant (American English, US, Canadian English, CA, Australian English, AU, Philippine English, PH), aubergine (British English, UK, Hiberno English, IE, New Zealand English, NZ), brinjal (Indian English, IN, Singapore English, SG, Malays ...

. The original ratatouille recipe has the vegetables fried before baking. Since at least 1976, some French chefs have prepared the ratatouille vegetables in thin slices instead of the traditional rough-cut. Michel Guérard, in his book founding '' cuisine minceur'' (1976), recreated lighter versions of the traditional dishes of nouvelle cuisine. His recipe, ''confit bayaldi'', differed from ratatouille by not frying the vegetables, removing peppers and adding mushrooms. American celebrity chef

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, the French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Found ...

first wrote about a dish he called "byaldi" in his 1999 book '' The French Laundry Cookbook''. Keller's variation of Guérard's added two sauces: a tomato and pepper sauce at the bottom ('' piperade''), and a

vinaigrette Vinaigrette ( , ) is made by mixing an edible oil with a mild acid such as vinegar (acetic acid) or lemon juice ( citric acid). The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can ...

at the top. He served as food consultant to the

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

film '' Ratatouille'', allowing its producer, Brad Lewis, to shadow for two days in the kitchen of his restaurant, the French Laundry. Lewis asked Keller how he would cook ratatouille if the most famous food critic in the world were to visit his restaurant. Keller decided he would make the ratatouille in ''confit byaldi'' form, and fan the vegetable rounds accordion-style with a palette knife.

Preparation and serving

According to Thomas Keller's recipe, a piperade is made of peeled, finely chopped, and reduced peppers, yellow onions,

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

, and

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

s. The piperade is spread thinly in a baking tray or casserole dish, then layered on top with evenly sized, thinly sliced rounds of

zucchini Zucchini (; : ''zucchini'' or ''zucchinis''), courgette () or ''Cucurbita pepo'' is a summer squash, a Vine, vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and Fruit anatomy#Epicarp, epicarp (rind) are still soft a ...

, yellow squash, Japanese eggplant, and roma tomatoes, covered in parchment paper, then baked slowly for several hours to steam the vegetables. The parchment is removed so that the vegetables roast, acquiring additional flavor through caramelization. To serve, the piperade is formed into a small mound, and the rounds arranged in a fanned-out pattern to cover the piperade base. A balsamic

is drizzled on the plate, which may be garnished.

References

External links

New York Times recipe

A Guide on How to Make Confit Byaldi

Daily News of Newburyport recipe

Recipe of Pixar-style Ratatouille
{{DEFAULTSORT:Confit Byaldi French cuisine Casserole dishes Eggplant dishes Vegetarian cuisine Vegan cuisine

History

Preparation and serving

See also

References

External links