Ratatouille Shepherd's Pie

I know, I know, enough with the peppers, eggplant and zucchini already ... but this is a masterpiece.

Last week, I gave you our current favorite version of Ratatouille. Now you're going to take that same recipe, and instead of serving it on toast with a fried egg (which is good, right?!), you're going to top it with an egg yolk-enriched mashed potato, and bake it until you get buttery-potato-topped goodness complete with crispy edges and all that veg yumminess underneath and it is really just gooooood. (dairy does not like me, so I make my own small dish of this with dairy-free mashed potatoes and that is quite good, too)

Please feel free to use your own favorite ratatouille recipe. Or if you have a favorite mashed potato recipe, feel free to use it here, but add the egg yolks to help create that stabilized potato layer on top of the pie.

Ratatouille Shepherd's Pie

Serves 6 - 8

Mashed potatoes

2 1/4 pounds large Yukon gold potatoes

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

1 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

5 large egg yolks

Ratatouille

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

5 medium tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice

5 garlic cloves, smashed

Kosher salt

2 tsp chicken bouillon, optional

3 medium Italian eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch dice (3 cups) (note: you can use other varieties of eggplant, too. If using large globe eggplant, cut out the seed area to minimize bitterness)

5 small zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice (3 cups)

2 large red onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice

2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch dice

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 T pomegranate molasses, optional

Directions

Make mashed potatoes:

Place potatoes in a large pot, and add water to cover and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high; reduce heat to medium, and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain potatoes, and let cool slightly. Peel potatoes while still warm; discard skins. Place peeled potatoes in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, heat cream, white pepper, and 4 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium-low until butter is melted, 1 to 2 minutes; set aside.

Stir and mash potatoes in bowl using a potato masher until just barely steaming, about 1 minute. Gradually add butter mixture and 1 teaspoons salt; stir until smooth. Set aside until potatoes are just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes. Stir in egg yolks, and whisk until incorporated. Set aside at room temperature.

Make ratatouille:

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, 1 garlic clove, and season with salt. Add 1/2 tsp of bouillon if using. Cook the tomatoes over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Scrape the tomatoes into a large dutch oven. Note: you can remove the larger bits of garlic if you like. Some say you can never have too much garlic, but we want this to be about the veggies and not about garlic.

Repeat with the eggplant, zucchini, onions and bell pepper, cooking each vegetable separately in 2 tablespoons of oil with 1 garlic clove, bit of bouillon and a generous pinch of salt until just tender and lightly browned, about 7 minutes per vegetable. Add the cooked vegetables to the tomatoes in the saucepan.

Add the paprika, crushed red pepper and 1/3 cup of water to the saucepan with the vegetables. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Season the ratatouille with salt and pepper and let cool slightly. Stir in pomegranate molasses, if using.

Assemble and bake the pie:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Pour the ratatouille mixture into a large casserole or a 9 x 12 pan. Put the casserole or pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips or splatters (easier oven clean up). Top vegetable mixture evenly with mashed potatoes, swirling the top or smoothing it out as you'd rather. Dot the top of the potatoes with the remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until heated through and potatoes are browned in spots, 30 to 40 minutes. Enjoy!