A Taste of Jersey Summer – Confit Byaldi

We are coming to the end of a beautiful Jersey Summer. What do you think of when you think of food and Jersey summer? Is it some of our amazing seafood? Fresh strawberries and thick Jersey cream? We are lucky to have so much fantastic food right on our doorsteps from the humble hedge veg, dedicated producers big and small, and all fishermen and farmers. I think this rather special version of Ratatouille called Confit Byaldi captures the best of our island, our horticultural heritage, and delicious sun-ripened local produce. When I made the first trial batch of  Confit Byaldi my daughter and I sat and ate a massive bowl just on its own, it really is that good. I suggest it would be lovely at lunchtime with some fresh crusty bread or tasty supper piled in a baked potato. As a side why not serve Confit Byaldi with some sauté, local diver-caught scallops or pan-fried sea bass or with grilled Halloumi and Jersey Royals. The recipe for Confit Byaldi is not complicated but does involve a little preparation so is perhaps best made a day in advance and the flavours, if you can leave it alone, do improve overnight. As an added bonus the red pepper sauce is brilliant with pasta or as an accompaniment for grilled fish like Sea bass and Bream.

Confit Byaldi       4 generous servings

For the Pepper Sauce 2 Red Peppers, remove the seeds and stem and cut into chunks 8 large Vine Tomatoes, deseeded and chopped 1 large Spanish Onion, peeled and finely chopped 4 large cloves of Garlic, peeled and finely chopped ½ teaspoon of Caster Sugar A good glug of Olive Oil 1 Sprig of fresh Thyme 1 Bay Leaf Sea Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper For the Confit Byaldi 1 large Green Courgette, washed and thinly sliced 1 large Yellow Courgette, washed and thinly sliced 2 Red Peppers, deseeded and cut into 2 ½ centimetre squares ( any off cuts can go into the pepper sauce ) 4 Baby Aubergines, thinly sliced 3 Red Tomatoes, thinly sliced 3 Yellow Tomatoes, thinly sliced 2 teaspoon Olive Oil ⅛ teaspoon Fresh Thyme Leaves Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper For the Tomato Dressing 1 large, ripe Tomato, deseeded and finely chopped A splash of quality White Wine or Cider Vinegar 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1 teaspoon Parsley, washed, dried and finely chopped Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper For the Red Pepper Sauce Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pan and sauté the onion of twenty to thirty minutes until soft, add the garlic stir and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the red pepper, chopped tomato, any juices, thyme, bay leaf, sugar and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Simmer for twenty minutes the take off the lid and simmer to reduce any liquid for another ten minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cool, remove the herbs, season generously and blitz in a food processor until smooth. ( This can be made in advance ). For the Confit Byaldi Heat your oven to 325 F / 160 C / Gas Mark 3. Spread a layer of your prepared pepper sauce in the bottom of a twenty-centimetre oven-proof casserole or baking dish. From the side of the dish, arrange a row of alternating slices of the sliced vegetables, overlapping so that just a little of each slice is exposed. Continue overlapping the vegetables in a close spiral until the dish is filled. Sprinkle with the thyme, season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil. Cover with baking paper and foil and crimp edges to seal well. Bake until the vegetables are tender when tested with a paring knife, roughly two hours. Uncover and bake for a further thirty minutes to colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. You can now cover and refrigerate overnight if you wish. Serve cold or reheat in 350-degree oven until warm as required, carefully lift from the tray with a spatula and drizzle with tomato dressing. For Tomato Dressing Gently mix ingredients together in a small bowl. What to Drink? In the Walt Disney film Ratatouille, the world-famous chef Thomas Keller invented a version of Confit Byaldi which was served to the imposing restaurant critic with a bottle of Chateau Latour. If you cannot afford this I would recommend a classic French Syrah or good Australian or Argentinian Shiraz, a great match for the rich umami sweet vegetable flavours. Allergens in this recipe are; There are no Allergens Please see the Allergens Page