Back to business.

My newest book is out, and has been for the past month or so. It seems to be doing well. Movie Dinners was featured in the Mail On Sunday as food book of the week.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1304760/Meals-reels.html

Not bad for an accidental food writer. However there were recipes that for many and various reasons couldn't be included in the book. I went to the trouble of writing the damn things and what's more force feeding them to family and friends to make sure they tasted fine and didn't poison anyone.

So here's what I'm going to do. I'll post them on here. Let me know what you think of the recipes and if you happen to have a copy Movie dinners - the book. If you like it lots a review on Amazon would be appreciated too.

Ratatouille (2007)

"This much I knew. If you are what you eat, then I only wanna eat the good stuff." Remy

I bet there are days when you stand in your kitchen and wish you had a chef to do the cooking for you when the guests turn up. For many the closest we come is passing off a premium range ready meal as home made or relying on Delia’s fool proof recipes to triumph once again.

If I wore a chef’s hat in the kitchen, which I don’t although believe me I’ve been tempted, I’d like Remy under mine. I know rodents and food preparation areas shouldn’t mix under any circumstances however I’d be prepared to overlook his more whiskery qualities in order to learn from his genius. (Yes I know he’s a cartoon but humour me!)

Remy is an innovator, he takes a dish as well known as ratatouille and with a very little twist transforms it something visually stunning and positively delicious. Of course he needs to work through Linguini to make his dishes a reality but for a rat with dream he has little option. I only wish I had Remy’s highly developed senses working alongside me when the guests at my table are waiting to be fed.

Mise en scene

1 courgette

1 small yellow pepper

1 small aubergine

2 tomatoes

1 red onion half sliced and half chopped

2 cloves of garlic

4 tablespoons passata

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Herbs de province (thyme, rosemary, oregano)

A round or oval baking dish with a lid if possible

It’s all in the edit...

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Slice the vegetables very thinly. You can use a mandolin if you are feeling brave but those with an attachment to their fingertips might choose to use a sharp knife instead.
3. Heat a splash or two of oil in a saucepan and soften the chopped onions and garlic. Tip these into the bottom of the baking dish and cover with the passata. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Begin to layer the vegetables around the dish in a spiral. This is time consuming so find your own sous chef, commis or even plongeur to complete this task for you. Alternate slices of different vegetables to make the dish appealing to the eye. When the dish is full or you have run out of vegetable slices season again.
5. Sprinkle on a dessert spoonful of herbs. Use ones you like from the list above, whatever you have knocking about in the garden.
6. Slosh a tablespoon or two of olive oil over the vegetables and pop the lid on the baking dish. If you don’t have a lid you can easily use foil or make a paper cartouche (see voice over). Bake for 25 minutes and then remove the lid. Bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes until the top of the ratatouille just colours.
7. Check under the table and behind the bin for rodents. Find a food critic to serve this too.

Voice over

Covering a dish without a lid is easy. You can use foil scrunched around the lid to secure. This is fine but can lead to the food under the foil steaming so if you want the food to bake then use parchment. Cut the paper slightly larger than the dish as this will allow you to tuck the paper into the edge of the dish.