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.
- Prep
- 41 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 36 min
- Total
- 2 hr 17 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Put a large casserole on the stove on medium heat.
Procedure
When the casserole is hot, add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom.
Procedure
Cut the zucchini and eggplant into ½ inch slices. Then, cut these into rectangles of about 3x1 inches. Add to the casserole.
Procedure
Sauté the slices until light brown; remove from pan and set aside temporarily.
Procedure
Chop the onions and garlic. Cut the green pepper into strips or dice, as preferred.
Procedure
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.
Procedure
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.
Procedure
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).
Procedure
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.
Procedure
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.
Procedure
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.
Notes, tips, and variations
Increase quantities to serve more, and add different vegetables as desired for variation.
Notes, tips, and variations
When ratatouille is used as a filling for savoury crêpes or to fill an omelette, the vegetables are sometimes cut into smaller pieces.
Notes, tips, and variations
While most recipes do not brown the onions, if you like them browned, brown them. Food traditions have always been subject to individual interpretation.
Notes, tips, and variations
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.
Photo: Marcus Guimarães · CC BY 2.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 15 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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