Published November 18, 2024. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Confit Biyaldi Recipe is an ode to the dish made famous by American chef Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. It involves layering a spiral of thinly sliced summer vegetables over an incredibly flavorful tomato and bell pepper sauce known as a piperade before being roasted in the oven. So elegant yet straightforward, you’ll understand why this dish is world-famous after just one bite.
With vegetables on the menu, I recommend pairing this meal with a light protein, like Roast Chicken, or elevated grains, like Creamy Risotto.
Confit Biyaldi
Confit biyaldi is the dish Remy serves to food critic Anton Ego in the Pixar film Ratatouille. Anton takes one bite of the confit vegetables, which instantly triggers a flashback to his childhood eating his mother’s ratatouille. The scene is mesmerizing and shows how such simple ingredients and flavors can remind you of some of the happiest moments in your life.
While ratatouille and confit biyaldi are practically the same recipes, confit biyaldi is the elevated version of the rustic French dish. Thinly sliced eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes are meticulously arranged in a baking dish in a spiral over an aromatic bell pepper and tomato sauce. It is not a quick and easy recipe, but roasting the vegetables low and slow for about 90 minutes takes on the best melt-in-your-mouth texture and elevated flavors.
Confit biyaldi can be served as a side dish with your favorite proteins or as the main dish alongside homemade bread.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Oil – I used olive oil in this recipe to sauté the aromatics and season the vegetables. Another neutral-flavored oil, like avocado oil, clarified butter, or ghee, will work well as a substitute.
- Aromatics – Yellow onion and garlic cloves give the tomato sauce (pipérade) a savory baseline flavor. Other aromatics used are white onions, red onions, or shallots.
- Peppers — Feel free to use any color combination of bell peppers in the sauce. I used red and yellow peppers, but orange and green peppers work well, too.
- Tomatoes — Canned or homemade tomato puree is used as the base of the pipérade, while thinly sliced Roma tomatoes, along with the other summer vegetables, are arranged on top.
- Eggplant – Any variety of small eggplant will work in this recipe.
- Squash – Both yellow squash and zucchini add vibrant pops of yellow and green to this vegetable dish.
- Thyme — Fresh thyme season the vegetables. You can substitute 1 teaspoon of dry thyme or another herb, like basil, oregano, or parsley.
- Seasoning – The vegetables are lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.
How to Make Confit Biyaldi
Carefully slice the eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini with a mandoline or sharp chef’s knife.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and lightly season them with salt. Stir frequently until they begin to soften.
Reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned and caramelized. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Turn up the heat to medium. Add the bell peppers to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes.
Pour in the tomato puree and season with salt. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth.
Pour the tomato sauce into a skillet or casserole dish.
Layer the thinly sliced vegetables in the pan, starting around the sides. In this order: eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini. Keep the vegetables upright as you go.
Repeat the process all the way around until you reach the inside.
For the centerpiece, layer 5 slices of eggplant, tomato, squash, and zucchini slices on top of each other and fan them out. Roll it up to create a rose.
Place the vegetable rose in the center of the pan. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme.
Cover the skillet/dish with a layer of foil or parchment paper. Bake the confit biyaldi at 325ºF for 60 to 65 minutes.
Afterward, remove the foil and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges of the vegetables are lightly browned and the vegetables are tender.
Serve it right away and enjoy.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: This dish is best served hot, although you can wait for it to cool and enjoy it the next day for a deeper flavor.
How to Store: Cover the leftovers and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This dish also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw the leftovers overnight before reheating them the next day.
How to Reheat: Warm the leftover confit biyaldi in a 350ºF oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s warmed through and the vegetables are slightly crisp around the edges. Alternatively, reheat individual portions in a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables are warm.
Chef Notes + Tips
- I like using a cast iron skillet, but you can make this dish in any 10-inch oven-proof skillet or casserole dish.
- “Pipérade” is another term for this recipe’s tomato and bell pepper sauce. In Thomas Keller’s French Laundry Cookbook, his pipérade is made from peeled and cooked bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and herbs.
- Carefully slice the vegetables with a mandoline for the most even, consistent slices. To be extra careful, wear a cut-resistant glove while slicing.
- Confit biyaldi can be served both hot and cold.
- Drizzle balsamic reduction over the cooked confit biyaldi to enhance the flavors.
- Michel Guérard first created this dish, which Chef Thomas Keller made famous in his 1999 hit cookbook, The French Laundry.
More Vegetable Recipes
- Roasted Beets Recipe
- Tomato Confit Recipe
- Kale Salad Recipe
- Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe
- Perfect Oven Roasted Potatoes
Confit Biyaldi Recipe (Ratatouille)
Ingredients
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 peeled and small-diced small yellow onion
- 3 finely minced garlic cloves
- 1 peeled, seeded, and small diced red bell pepper
- 1 peeled, seeded, and small diced yellow bell pepper
- 3 cups tomato puree
- 2 thinly sliced baby or Japanese egg plant
- 6 thinly sliced Roma tomatoes
- 2 thinly sliced yellow squash
- 2 thinly sliced green zucchini
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a medium-sized saucepot over medium heat and add in the onions. Gently season with salt and cook while frequently stirring for 5 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to low and cook for 10 minutes while occasionally stirring or until well browned.
- Stir in the garlic and cook just until fragrant, which takes about 30 to 45 seconds.
- Add in the bell peppers and sauté for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Pour in the tomato puree, season with salt, and cook over low to medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend it at high speed until smooth. Be sure the center piece is removed from the cap of the blender when blending so that the steam can escape.
- Pour the tomato sauce into a 10” cast iron skillet or round deep 10” casserole dish.
- Starting on the inside of the pan around the sides of the skillet, layer with the eggplant, tomatoes, squash, and zucchini, keeping the vegetables upright. Repeat the process all the way around.
- Repeat the same procedures to the inside of that vegetable round in the pan.
- For the centerpiece, fan out and layer slightly over one another about 5 slices each of eggplant, tomato, squash, and zucchini, and roll it up to create a rose. Place that vegetable rose to the center of the pan.
- Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the top of the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the fresh thyme evenly, place a piece of foil or parchment round over the top, and bake on the middle rack at 325° for 60 to 65 minutes.
- Remove the foil or parchment and bake for another 30 to 35 minutes, or until the edges of the vegetables are lightly browned and the vegetables are tender. Serve hot.
Confit Biyaldi Recipe