Greetings from England, Friends 👋

My family and I have been here for nearly a week, visiting various relatives of my father, including his brother who lives on the southeast coast near Dover. Yesterday, en route to his home from our Airbnb in Canterbury, we stopped at the above-pictured market, The Goods Shed, for breakfast, and the bounty made we long for more time here.

Look at these figs!

We return home soon, and I will be dreaming of the many delicious pastries we've been grabbing on the go for breakfast — the croissants have been outstanding — as well as the sandwiches we've been living on for lunch, namely this one: brie, prosciutto, lettuce and quince jam on freshly baked ciabatta:

My Uncle's street...

... and his view of the very most northern edge of the White Cliffs of Dover.

It's been a dream. I hope you all are well. More soon 👋

THE Recipe to Make This Weekend

If you've been reading for a while now you know the recipe I am referring to is ratatouille. There are many ways to make excellent ratatouille, but I think roasting it is the least fussy (and best) way to do it.

The recipe I use calls for roasting with both olive oil and balsamic vinegar, which gives the finished ratatouille a subtle bite, a flavor that evokes eggplant caponata though the sharpness here is more mellow. It is irresistible.

This time of year, when the vegetables so quickly accumulate on the counter, I often make a triple or quadruple recipe. Most often this is how my roasting pan looks upon entering the oven:

For this many vegetables, you'll need to roast for about 3 hours, stirring once every hour. When nearly all of the liquid has reduced, and the vegetables become jammy in texture, the ratatouille is done.

Toss it with pasta. Spoon it over polenta. Eat it straight from the pan.

Two summers ago I discovered I loved it over grilled flatbread, the recipe for which I included in Pizza Night.

It also freezes beautifully, so don't be afraid to pack it away in quart containers and save it for a chilly fall day. (The caramelized cloves of garlic are my favorite.)