giambotta
Usually my recipes are real flexible and I hardly write any “backstory” at all. I’m not a huge fan of the ones where you have to read a novel about the cook’s life/kids/childhood. But today this recipe actually does have a story, and it’s the reason why I made it in the first place.
Growing up I ate this dish made by both of my grandmothers, but an ocean apart. My Italian-American grandma made this giambotta as kind of a light vegetable stew. My mom sometimes cooked it too. When I would stay with my other grandmother in Nice, on the French Riviera, she would cook a version of this almost every day. I would call my parents and complain that it was “zucchini and tomato land”.
Last week I was looking at my harvest vegetables trying to figure out what to cook, and my mom suggested this. I never really enjoyed it as a kid…but I loved all the ingredients and felt like I was good enough in the kitchen to make it work. This tasted AMAZING. All of the ingredients were coming in fresh at the same time, so I think it’s the perfect mid or end of summer recipe.
When researching online I read that this would be eaten cold, stuffed into a bread bowl to make it portable. It was packed up as lunch for farmers to take into the fields with them. That totally felt right so I did the same and brought it out into the garden with me. What’s nice is you can eat this hot or cold, as a snack or and add whatever protein or starch that you might want.
INGREDIENTS
TBH, use whatever amount of each vegetable that you like.
1 large zucchini diced
1 large eggplant diced
a few sweet peppers, diced
3 small potatoes, diced
2-12 cloves of garlic, sliced ( I use a whole head)
2-4 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups tomato sauce
fresh basil
s & p
Wash and chop all of your vegetables into bite sized pieces, about 1” cubes
Grab a big pot with a lid and warm your oil over medium heat.
Add all of your vegetables + garlic to the pan and season with some s & p. You can add chili flakes or whatever other dried herbs that you like.
Cook for about 10 minute, stirring occasionally.
Pour tomato sauce over the vegetables so that they’re pretty much completely covered. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for another 10-20 minutes. I like to cook it for even longer because I like mine to be pretty soft and melted down.
In the last few minutes of cooking add some fresh basil. Serve hot or cold w/ bread.