Ratatouille I
Ratatouille is a traditional Provençale stewed vegetable dish that can be served as a meal on its own, accompanied by rice, potatoes or French bread, or as a side dish. It can be served hot or cold.
Servings
3–4
Olive oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic, or to taste
1 eggplant (aubergine)
1 bell pepper (green, red, yellow or a combination)
2 zucchini (courgettes)
6 medium tomatoes, ripe (juicy), peeled and seeded
salt and pepper to taste
Herbes de Provence to taste or 1 small bunch basil (optional), chiffoned
Put a large casserole on the stove on medium heat.
When the casserole is hot, add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom.
Cut the zucchini and eggplant into ½ inch slices. Then, cut these into rectangles of about 3x1 inches. Add to the casserole.
Sauté the slices until light brown; remove from pan and set aside temporarily.
Chop the onions and garlic. Cut the green pepper into strips or dice, as preferred.
Add some additional oil if needed, and cook the onions and peppers slowly for about 10 minutes until tender but not brown. Stir in the garlic.
10 minutes
Peel and seed the tomatoes. Dice them or cut them into quarters, add to the casserole. Add some salt to bring out their juices. Cover and lower the heat.
Five minutes later, check to see if the tomatoes have made enough juice to almost cover the vegetables—if so, perfect; if not, add water as needed (not too much).
Add salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence to taste. In general, 1 tsp of salt, ½ tsp of pepper, and 1 tbsp of the herbs will suffice.
Add the zucchini and eggplant back and blend gently with the tomato-onion-pepper mixture. Cover the casserole and let simmer on low heat until the vegetables are tender but still intact, 10–20 minutes, or to taste.
10–20 minutes
Remove the lid, raise the heat a little and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes, basting frequently until the liquids have mostly evaporated, leaving a small amount of juice and olive oil.
15 minutes
- •Increase quantities to serve more, and add different vegetables as desired for variation.
- •When ratatouille is used as a filling for savoury crêpes or to fill an omelette, the vegetables are sometimes cut into smaller pieces.
- •While most recipes do not brown the onions, if you like them browned, brown them. Food traditions have always been subject to individual interpretation.
- •N.B. It is important that each of the vegetables retain its own shape and character. Most authorities agree that ratatouille should not be a mush. Avoid overcooking. Sautéing the eggplant and courgettes initially helps retain their shape and improves their flavour, but is optional. Of course, if you personally prefer a more homogeneous dish, it may be cooked for 45 minutes to 1 hour, but this is unusual.