Camille Aubray's Summer-on-the-Terrace Recipe

Summer is the time to feel happy and alive! You want to cook quickly, and eat slowly and lazily with a nice bottle of wine and the company of good friends. It’s the perfect time for a dish that comes from Italy (caponata) and from the South of France (ratatouille) . So in honor of my new novel, THE GODMOTHERS, let’s cook a meal that celebrates the bounty of summer!

This recipe is easy and versatile—you can serve it hot or cold, as an appetizer, a side dish or a main course. You can keep it solely vegetable; or you can add cheeses, meat or fish to accompany it. Serve it hot with melted cheese on top; or cold with a splash of vinegar and a side platter of cold cuts and crudité.

You don’t have to cook this alone—let your friends and family help you prep! My husband and I love to create new meals together, it’s fun. Kitchens are great places for people to learn the value of helping one another—and everyone will be proud of the results.

Ingredients (I prefer organic and farmers’ market fresh)

1/2 cup olive oil and extra if needed

6 cups diced eggplant

4 cups zucchini, cut in half and then into half-moon pieces

1 red onion, diced or sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 large tomatoes, diced ( or 16 cherry tomatoes, halved)

1 sweet red pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

12 black olives, preferably kalamata, whole or pitted, rinsed

3 sprigs fresh thyme or a sprinkling of dried

10 fresh basil leaves, or a sprinkle of dried

juice of one lemon

1/4 cup white wine or water

fresh pepper

sea salt

Optional: grated Parmesan or Romano; shredded Gruyere or Emmenthaler cheese

How to Cook It:

Use your widest skillet, preferably a heavy one like an enamel-lined cast-iron such as Le Creuset or a heavy skillet like Calphalon. Add 3/4 of the olive oil and heat it at medium setting. Test the oil to make sure that it’s hot but not smoking, by putting one cube of eggplant in. If it sizzles, it’s ready.

Add all other eggplant cubes and use 2 spoons to toss and coat it with oil.

After about 5 minutes, add the zucchini half-moons, the onions, garlic and red peppers. Keep tossing like a salad. Add the rest of the olive oil if necessary.

When the vegetables have softened a bit, add the tomatoes and olives. Sprinkle with the juice of one small lemon or half of a big one.

Add the herbs and salt and pepper.

Turn down the heat to low, and keep tossing until everything is soft enough to eat but not mushy. If you need more moisture, sprinkle a little white wine or water.

If you want to serve it hot, sprinkle the top with the shredded soft cheese (Gruyere or Emmenthaler) and then the grated hard cheese (Parmesan or Romano), and either pop it into a hot oven or cover it briefly to melt the cheese.

If you want to serve it cold, just remove from the heat and turn it onto a big, pretty platter, and add a light sprinkling of white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar.

Depending on how hungry you are, serve with:

-Toasted bread triangles, croutons, or a fresh crusty bread

-Cheese cubes or goat cheese

-Rolled slices of thinly sliced prosciutto or ham or roast beef

-Pasta, hot or cold

-Fish, lobster or shrimp; or chicken or sausages

Serve with drinks: chilled rosé wine, chablis or other dry white wine, brut champagne, or burgundy, or just sparkling water with lemon.