December 6th
2006
First off, my grandma has nothing to do with this recipe :) The actual story behind this dish? A few weeks ago, a couple of friends and I decided to revive the memories of the soccer world cup feelings and got tickets for Sönke Wortmann's much hyped -and deservedly so- film "Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen" ("Germany. A Summer's Fairytale"; link points to website including trailer). The evening, naturally, had to be kicked off on a proper culinary note. We decided in favor of Anna Bar, opposite to the Mathäser cinema, a spot known for good pre-movie sushi. Not high end but pretty decent.
At first, we were a bit bummed since all except one of our men gave us a rain check. A lost mobile, illness and a babysitter who went into hiding, all lame excuses in my opinion. Men and soccer, what can I say!? So it was us, 6 girls and a guy! And another surprise: That evening, the sushi - while good - was clearly overtrumped by Anja's dish: Ratatouille soup with mascarpone.
Tempted by her mmm sounds we all wanted to sample and she graciously shared it with everyone. We started having a lively discussion on how to reproduce this soup, which didn't get us anywhere. On the other hand - and this is really not me - I was too shy to ask the waiter to ask the cook if he'd be willing to share the recipe, or, well, give us a hint anyway. I still keep wondering: is it a big NO-NO to ask about a recipe? I've done it on very rare occasions in the past and my personal success rate would be about 50% in getting an answer. I really don't mind, if they decline and respond with a "NO", but hey, can't blame me for tryin'! And to shatter the argument about not returning, since now I'd be magically able "to make it myself just as good", well that's not true, in fact I tend to come back even sooner simply because of their kindness.
With the colder days slowly approaching - although this year's temperatures are way out of the norm - my craving for soups returned. The last weeks I have been searching the web for different ratatouille recipes, found a few and gave them a soup tuning. It was almost too easy! After just two attempts I was completely satisfied with the achieved taste, I'd claim it even deserves a top rank among my favorite soups. Unlike other soups I make, this one needs to be strained after blending it, which produces an unbelievably smooth and silky texture and gives the soup a deep orange color. The mascarpone adds a nice balance, just make sure to add it before you sieve the soup, otherwise you'll end up with small lumps floating around. It's a fairly forgiving recipe, you can always substitute one vegetable with another and adapt the mix to your own liking.
Note: For those of you able to receive ARD (German TV program), the movie "Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen" will premier on television tonight at 20.15pm. Don't miss out!
First prepare the vegetables: Wash and roughly dice the eggplant, bell peppers, zucchino; this is no beauty contest, everything will be blended later on.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot (medium to high heat), then add finely chopped onions, garlic cloves and chili. Cook until onions become translucent. Then add the tomato puree, the eggplant and sautée for two or three minutes while stirring occasionally.
Now add the rest of the prepared vegetables (bell peppers & zucchino) as well as the fresh herbs and roast for a couple of minutes (don't forget to stir every now and then), this will add a nice roast flavor to the vegetables. Deglaze with the canned, chopped tomatoes (I cut out the stems) and their juice, add the hot vegetable broth and the heavy cream.
Add the spices: sea salt, black pepper, smoked pepper, sugar, nutmeg and let simmer for 20-30 minutes or until all vegetables are soft.
Mash the mix with a handheld blender, add the mascarpone, then pass trough a fine-mesh sieve using a big ladle - it's well worth the effort! Discard the solids (or keep them for whatever you feel they could be used for).
Put the pot back on the stove and add two bay leaves. Let simmer for a few more minutes, season to taste. Finally discard the bay leaves and serve with a generous dollup of either mascarpone, sour cream or crème fraîche and a slice of toasted bread.
Ratatouille soup
Recipe source: own creation
Prep time: 20min., cooking time: at least 30min.
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Ingredients (serves 2-3):
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped (amount to taste)
1 eggplant, diced
4 tbsp of tomato puree
2 bell peppers, one red, one yellow, diced
1 zucchino, diced
1 mid-sized can tomatoes, chopped, including juice
fresh oregano and/or thyme, chopped
1l vegetable broth
100ml heavy cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tsp white sugar
freshly ground nutmeg
1-2 bay leaves
1 tsp smoked pepper/Pimentón de la Vera picante (amount to taste)
4-5 tbsp mascarpone, sour cream or crème fraîche
serve with toasted bread/baguette and an extra dollop of mascarpone etc.
this sounds amazing!
Oh, this is the soup you have put my pepper to good use, I see. It sure sounds yummy, will try. I might roast the bell peppers in the oven though, for even more roast/smoke aromas. Since you stress straining, I will do it, too, although I normally never would. Maybe use the solids as a bread spread?
What a good idea!
Ich war leider nie besonders erfolgreich, was das Nachkochen von Restaurant-Gerichten betrifft. Und nach dem Rezept fragen traute sich frau auch nicht, vielleicht schreckt mich hier die Vorstellung ab, dass ein grimmiger Koch aus der Küche gelaufen kommt und mir eine Szene macht weil ich sein Gericht nachkochen möchte :)
That sounds really tasty - I think, I will prepare this for tonight! But could you please translate to German or explain, what "smoked pepper/Pimentón de la Vera picante " stands for? Thank you!
Hi Nicky,
today I came across your blog and must say that it is absolutely fantastic! The design, your style of writing and most of all, your recipies. You definitely won a new regular. :)
Ratatouille is my favorite dish, but it never occured to me that I could turn it into a bowl of soup. You are always an inspiration, thanks!
belle soupe de ratatouille
That's exactly what I'm craving for! My favorite vegetables turned into soup. And what coincidence, I bought Pimentón de la Vera last week and haven't used it since!
Thanks for the inspiration---I need some new good soup recipes!
I miss the soccer world cup!!!!!
@ Hannes
Pimentón: Das geräucherte
Chili-Pulver aus La Vera (Spanien)
Seit Jahrhunderten wird in La Vera in der westspanischen Provinz Extremadura ein einzigartiges Gewürz hergestellt, das Weltruhm erlangt hat: das geräucherte Chili-Pulver Pimentón de la Vera. Was aber hat dieses delikate Gewürz mit Eicheln zu tun? . . . Siehe bitte:
http://pepperworld.com/kulinarisch/pimenton.htm
Yumm, I love how you pureed this soup. This looks delicious and perfect for this month!
I think this is a cool, creative, tasty looking dish. I was thinking about what you said about wanting to get the recipe and having a 50% success rate on asking chefs...
It's the same when you actually work in the kitchen - don't worry. Some people have a philosophy that includes teaching and sharing and being open about what they do, how, and why...other chefs are likely to give you a recipe and leave an ingredient out on purpose...or hide their ways altogether. It is mostly an issue of job security...people get so competitive in the kitchen! It's whack. But I think you are so right that you'd be likely to go back to eat where a chef shares his/her good news with you:) That's a good vibe thing. Those are the best places to work too.
from amy at
http://sillypants.com
I reckon I could get my husband to eat eggplant with this soup. And he'd never know.
Ratatoille soup it is, then.
It sounds original and I can only imagine the taste. Also a great photo of the soup, something I can never seem to get right!
what a great page. I enjoy your design.
Rémy
I already cooked your potato soup, which was a big hit and I will definitely try this recipe as well. It's soup time!
just discovered your website and have to say i am speechless! fresh and bright and fantastic photography!
[...] 06.12.06: delicious days kocht uns eine Ratatouille-Suppe [...]
Hande, Perfect idea. With a little extra seasoning I can totally see it on a slice of hearty sourdough bread...
Ludwig, besser hätte ich es auch nicht erklären können ;)
Sillypants, You got a point! But wait, I'm not a professional cook and in an open conversation would certainly explain that I mean no harm, so to speak. So from my perspective, enjoying good food is key to having a good time with your friends and family - the more people being able to enjoy a recipe, the better! And besides, everybody has his own or her own style of cooking, so naturally the results will vary in the end.
Barbara, Hihi! And I'd be your partner in crime!
Aury, Funny you say so, the potato soup is in fact among my all-time favorites as well ;)
I tried your recipe over the weekend and loved it! Also I ran out of bell pepers the pot was empty in no time... It was the first time I strained a soup and it was well worth it, like you said.
I like the recipe. I've looked on-line and the Recipe seems to be from the French Provence, but mascarpone seems to be from Italy. So would you say this is a French recipe or a French/Italian?
Second question: I often cook with crème fraîche, but I'm not familiar with mascarpone. How do the taste of the two compare in a soup?
I don't use eggplant a lot for cooking and I never had it in soup, but your recipe and the photos are very tempting.
Doug, I'd say it's a yummy recipe ;) Just kidding! Maybe French with an Italian twist? The easiest solution would be to simply call it Mediterranean.
Concerning the taste difference between crème fraîche and mascarpone: They are both not the healthiest option due to their high content of fat, but you can always substitute one with the other. The crème fraîche has a more accentuated tangy taste, which the mascarpone does not.
[...] one of nicky’s recipes and even with my elementary cooking skills i was able to pull off her ratouille soup. It was amazing people! delicious, not too hard and well worth the time, especially the straining.. [...]
I could eat a bowl of soup every day, so thank you for another great soup idea. My husband loves Ratatouille, so this one will be on our table soon.