Protean Ratatouille

This variable and eccentric ratatouille saves on time but isn’t short on taste. It is endlessly useful and can take on myriad characters: Mix in chunks of chicken or fish and eat it as a main course or serve it as a side dish for sautéed lamb chops or as a sauce to toss over pasta or rice. You can eat it chilled as a salad or scalding hot as a soup, or use it as a bed on which to braise veal shoulder chops or poach a fillet of salmon.