Confit byaldi

Confit byaldi

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

History

The name is a play on the Turkish dish "İmam bayıldı", which is more of a stuffed eggplant.^[1][2] The dish has appeared sporadically on menus in France and the United States ever since.^{[citation needed]}

The original ratatouille recipe had the vegetables fried before baking. Since at least 1976, top French chefs have prepared the ratatouille vegetables in thin slices instead of the traditional rough-cut. Michel Guérard, in his innovative book founding cuisine minceur (1976),^[3] recreated lighter versions of the traditional dishes of nouvelle cuisine.^[4] His recipe Confit bayaldi, differed from ratatouille by not frying the vegetables, removing peppers and adding mushrooms. Keller's variation of Guérard's added two sauces, a tomato and peppers sauce at the bottom (pipérade), and a vinaigrette at the top.^[5][6]

American celebrity chef Thomas Keller first wrote about a dish he called "byaldi" in his 1999 cookbook, The French Laundry Cookbook.^[7] Beginning in mid-2000, he served as food consultant to the Pixar film, Ratatouille, allowing its producer, Brad Lewis, to intern for two days in the kitchen of his restaurant, French Laundry. Lewis asked Keller how he would cook ratatouille if the most famous food critic in the world were to visit his restaurant.^[1] Keller decided he would fan the vegetables accordion-style with a palette knife.^[8]

Preparation and serving

Vegetable rounds arranged on a baking tin

A pipérade is made of peeled, finely chopped, and reduced peppers, yellow onions, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. The piperade is spread thinly in a baking tray or casserole dish, then layered on top with evenly sized, thinly sliced rounds of zucchini, 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 may then 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 vinaigrette is drizzled on the plate, which may be garnished.^[9][10]

Despite the delicate preparation and presentation, confit biyaldi, like most ratatouilles, improves with age overnight in the refrigerator.^[7]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Finz, Stacy (2007-06-28). "Bay Area flavors food tale: For its new film 'Ratatouille,' Pixar explored our obsession with cuisine". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/28/MNGGIQNA7M1.DTL. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 
2. ^ Garr, Robin (2007-07-19). "Rat-atouille". Wine lovers page. http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/food/tsfl20070719.php. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 
3. ^ Guérard, Michel (1977). Michel Guérard's Cuisine Minceur. Macmillan. pp. 221–4. ISBN 0333219074. "Ratatouille Niçoise is recipe No 144, while Confit bayaldi is No 141" 
4. ^ Aldo Buzzi L'uovo alla kok
5. ^ "Recipe: Confit Byaldi". The New York Times. 2007-06-13. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/dining/131rrex.html?_r=1. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 
6. ^ "Ratatouille recipe: Confit Byaldi". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. 2007-07-09. http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_6334231. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Keller, Thomas (November 1, 1999). The French Laundry Cookbook (2 ed.). Artisan. pp. 178–9. ISBN 1579651267. 
8. ^ Severson, Kim (2007-06-13). "A Rat With a Whisk and a Dream". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/dining/13rata.html. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 
9. ^ "A delightful renaissance of ratatouille". Ottawa Citizen. 2007-08-01. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/columnists/story.html?id=711fac26-d3af-4c84-a034-73495b9d87aa. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 
10. ^ Lyons, Gay (2007-08-02). "Ratatouille, for real". Metro Pulse. http://www.metropulse.com/news/2007/aug/02/ratatouille-for-real/. Retrieved 2010-07-27. 

See also

• İmam bayıldı

External links

• New York Times recipe
• Daily News of Newburyport recipe
• The Bachelor's Gourmet #2 - Confit Byaldi (aka "Ratatouille"), video showing the recipe