Rotatu y Otumbe

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Recipe submitted by al445837@academ01.mty.itesm.mx

Rotatu y Otumbe

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

3 red bell peppers
2 onions
2 potatoes
3 small or 2 large eggplants
5 large or 15 small tomatoes
olive oil
salt
pepper

Directions:

Serves: 4.

Preparation time: 30/360.

Cut everything in slices, the thinner the better, including the onions and peppers.

Only the eggplant needs pre-cooking. When you have finishe'd cutting the eggplant in slices, soak it in saltwater to deflegm it for 15-20 minutes. Dry the eggplants afterwards by squeezing them in groups of slices, because you will be frying them.

Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the eggplant slices in groups. Eggplant absorbs a lot of oil at first, but it just releases it as it is fried. Make sure the eggplant is crisp both sides, as this will add a lot of flavor, but don't let them burn. Take it slow. =) You can add salt and pepper to each slice if you want.

When all the eggplant is ready, it is time to put all the ingredients together. In a large conventional oven-safe bowl (or a deep stock pot), arrange the ingredients in layers. Best results are achieved using a deeper than wider container. As you place a layer of, say, tomato, add a little salt and pepper. Add another layer of an ingredient, plus salt and pepper, until all the ingredients are used up. Adding salt in this way will prevent under or overestimating the necessary quantity.

Now cover it, not completely, and leave it in the oven @T=350oC (650oF) for about 2 and a half hours or until most of the water has evaporated.

Tips:

-The best layout, I think, is repeating layers of the form:

%%%%%% Red Bell Pepper
000000 Eggplant
&&&&&& Onions
****** Tomatoes
------ Potatoes

-Keep in mind that all the fat in the recipe will come from the one used in frying the eggplant, so don't spare it. Any spices you add might be overwhelmed by the increidible flavor of the cooked veggies, so salt and pepper will be enough.

-You can use a microwave oven as well, but it won't be as succulent.

-Try to get red bell peppers. They are six times as expensive here in Mexico compared to green peppers, but green ones tend to be bitter when deprived of their water content this way. Yellow ones are almost as good as red ones.

Variations:

+You can add olives. +You can add a little olive oil at the top, but it is not necessary. +You can use it as a sophisticated sauce for pasta (fussili is great).

Source: Restaurant in Spain plus modifications

This is the absolute best recipe on this site! It is so rich and filling that even my carnivore husband loves it!! I send copies to my garden friends who ask for an eggplant recipe and they have all raved over it! It takes a little time, but it is certainly worth it.

Archived comment by: monica

I love eggplant, & made this recipe yesterday; was all ready to put it in the oven when I saw the temperature setting specified as 350oC(650oF). My GE oven, 1 year old, only goes to 500oF. I baked it at 350oF for 3 hours, as a guess. What are the precise times & temps?

Archived comment by: heidi

Que rico! From experience, this recipe is delicious.

Archived comment by: damon Allen

I followed directions, even baked it at a lower temp than recommended (550 F), for less time, and the entire top layer was burnt BLACK (the red peppers). Also, the bottom layer and sides of the oven safe dish were BLACK. What a disappointment!!! What happened?

Archived comment by: esta

650??? yikes! i would def just try this at 375 or 450, at the highest. other than that sounds rad

Archived comment by: havenolegs