Sieze el Día

We pulled into the roadside venta, eager for some lunch on their terrace and a cold beverage. The grapevine covered patio was shady and several tables full. We happily sat down for our main meal of the day.

The waiter approached with a friendly “Hola, buenas tardes.” We responded in like and all smiled at each other, the international greeting accepted by all. The waiter proceeded to tell us of the plato del dia. We all made out the word ratatouille, and Emma squealed her interest in having that for her lunch. Grace chimed in agreement. They have seen the Disney movie Ratatouille many times this summer and actually getting to eat the dish sounded fun! Scott and I figured why not, and cuatro ratatouilles were ordered when the waiter returned.

Some time later, manana, during our second round of beers, after the chickens in the back yard were explored and the girls went to the bathroom twice, our plates arrived. We were all silent for a moment, taking in the plates with one fried egg, french fries, and a stew-like mixture of peppers, onions, eggplant, tomatoes….ratatouille! The girls were thoughtful but didn’t put up any protests. It definitely didn’t look like Disney ratatouille though. With pinched looks on their faces, they picked up their forks and tentatively tasted. Grace liked it, but she is the one who likes bell peppers. Emma was a little more hesitate but made do with the tomatoes and egg.

It wasn’t the layered, baked Julia Child dish I was expecting either, but I like all of the ingredients and dug in. It was really quite good. Scott reminded me that it is a French peasant’s dish, and I discovered later at www.epicureantable.com that peasants across many countries all have their own version. In Spain, it’s actually called pisto, and the egg on top of ours made it a really home-cooked version. I suppose calling it ratatouille though gave it some Disney glamour!