For the glaze:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Rub the garlic with oil and roast until very soft. Separate and peel the garlic cloves.

In a food processor, combine the mustard, vinegar, lemon, salt, pepper, Tabasco and egg yolks. With the machine running, pour the oil in— drop by drop at first, then in a slow steady stream, until the mixture becomes very thick. At this point the mixture will be a bit thinner than a store-bought mayonnaise. With the machine still running, add the garlic. Scrape the sides of the bowl, adjust seasoning if needed, and pulse two or three more times. Scrape into a clean container.

Tips:

• The glaze will come together better if all of the ingredients,
  including the oil, are chilled.
• You are making a mayonnaise. You can leave the garlic out or
  substitute a variety of herbs or spices.
• Keep the storage container and utensils free of excess oil.
• Alternately, use this as you would a sandwich spread. You
  can also thin it slightly with water, fruit juice or buttermilk to
  make a dip or salad dressing.

For the ratatouille:

For this ratatouille, the vegetables are cooked separately and combined later. Note that the traditional garlic and basil show up in other components of the dish. If you are making only the ratatouille, add a few cloves of garlic to the onion and finish with some fresh chopped basil.

Set a fine strainer on top of a mixing bowl. Cut each of the vegetables into a tiny dice, keeping them separate. Each vegetable is cooked at a slightly different temperature and for a different amount of time to highlight flavor and texture. Start each vegetable with just a touch of salt and white pepper, and enough oil to coat the pan.

Cook the onion very slowly over low heat until it is very soft but not browned. Cook the pepper over medium heat to soften it, turning the heat up at the end to get a touch of brown. Sauté the zucchini over medium-high heat; don’t crowd the pan and leave it with a little crunch. Sauté the eggplant over very high heat, adding oil as needed so the pieces always look glossy. The eggplant is cooked when it starts to release some oil back into the pan. Sauté the mushrooms just as you did the zucchini. Cook the carrot over medium-low heat until it softens but has a little crunch left. If the tomatoes are perfectly ripe, they will only need a minute or two over medium heat.

As each of the vegetables is cooked, add it to the strainer to collect the juices in the bowl. Combine the vegetables and adjust the seasoning. Reserve the juices for the herb broth.

For the herb broth:

Heat the wine, vegetable juices and stock. Reduce slightly and bring to a boil. When the liquid is boiling, whisk in the butter in small pieces. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the herbs. Adjust the seasoning.

For the main dish:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Pat the fish dry and dust lightly with Wondra Flour. Place the fish on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Top each filet with about 2 tablespoons of the garlic glaze. Bake for about 7 minutes. The glaze should turn brown. The fish will be just barely cooked through.

Meanwhile, reheat the ratatouille. Portion the ratatouille onto warm plates. Top it with the glazed fish, taking care not to let the glaze slide off. Spoon the warm broth around the plate.

Feel free to substitute a different fish. Salmon works well. For a thinner filet like snapper, bake at a higher temperature for less time.

Serves 8

Recipe courtesy of Andre de Waal, chef/owner of Andre’s