This classic ratatouille recipe is a cozy French vegetable stew of eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. Serve it with crusty bread and pistou for a satisfying meal!
You’ve heard of the Ratatouille movie: but do you know what ratatouille actually is? This dish is actually pretty different from the movie version of thinly sliced vegetables served in a swirled stack.
Instead, it’s a classic French dish of stewed late summer vegetables that’s anything but fancy, but it’s a wonderful way to use seasonal produce! I love making it when tomatoes and eggplant are in season. You can serve it as a side dish with fish or chicken, or as a main dish with white beans and crusty bread!
What Is Ratatouille?
Ratatouille is a classic dish from Southern France of stewed vegetables. There’s no formalized recipe or method, but it typically includes eggplant, tomato, zucchini, onion, and bell pepper. It’s a humble stew and surprise: not anything like the ratatouille you see in the Pixar movie.
- Where did the Disney ratatouille recipe come from? In the 1970’s French chefs started making a version of the dish with thin sliced vegetables. French chef Thomas Keller riffed on this concept in his 1999 cookbook, calling the recipe Confit byaldi. Confit byaldi adds a tomato and pepper sauce on the bottom (piperade), then garnishes the thin-sliced vegetables with balsamic vinaigrette.
- Chef Thomas Keller actually served as food consultant for the movie Ratatouille! He suggested this way to serve the humble dish to a food critic, which is how it made its way into the movie. It does seem like a pretty genius spin for a mouse to think up, so we’re glad to know it was actually a great real-life chef. (Source)
How To Make Ratatouille (The French Way)
A traditional ratatouille recipe is a humble vegetable stew, filled with end of summer vegetables. It’s a comforting dish that makes your kitchen smell like heaven as the garlic sizzles. The way it enhances the flavors is out of this world! Here are a few things to note about this ratatouille recipe:
- Chop and season. Cut the eggplant, zucchini, pepper, and onion, then mix them with olive oil and kosher salt.
- Sauté the veggies in two batches. The amount of vegetables is too large for the pot, so to get a good caramelization on them you’ll sauté in two batches. While some modern spins roast their ratatouille veggies, we wanted to go as classic as possible.
- Build the sauce. Add the garlic for a few seconds, then add fresh tomato and the crushed tomatoes, browned vegetables, and remaining salt.
- Simmer for 30 minutes. At this point it’s totally hands off, so you can prepare the rest of the meal. Cook until the vegetables are tender.
Top It With Pistou
This is a traditional ratatouille recipe, but I couldn’t resist adding a little spin! (Sorry, Remy.) I love serving it with classic French pistou over the top. This green sauce makes the recipe shine.
- Pistou is a classic French Provençal sauce made of garlic, olive oil and fresh basil. It’s like Italian pesto but without pine nuts, which gives it a looser texture.
- Use an immersion blender or a mortar and pestle to make this traditional sauce.
- The fresh, garlicky flavor notes really add to this humble dish.
Ratatouille Recipe Tips & Troubleshooting
Here are a few tips for the best results with this recipe:
- If your stew is watery: If your ratatouille still looks watery at 30 minutes, keep simmering uncovered for another 5 to 10 minutes to thicken it.
- To avoid mushy vegetables: Cut the eggplant a little larger than the zucchini, since it softens more.
- Make it in advance: Like most stews, ratatouille tastes even better the next day once the flavors meld in the fridge.
What To Serve Alongside
Ratatouille is a late summer recipe that works as main dish or a side dish for roast chicken or fish. But keep in mind: it’s all vegetables with no major source of protein to keep you full. To serve it as a main dish, pair it with a protein like white beans, chickpeas or bread and cheese. Here are some ideas:
- Serve with bread and assorted cheeses
- Add sautéed white beans or cannellini beans
- Add French lentils
- Serve over rice with sauteed chickpeas
- Use as a side dish for chicken, seared salmon or grilled salmon, grilled tilapia, or pan fried cod
Storing and Freezing Leftovers
Leftover ratatouille lasts refrigerated for up to 3 days; reheat gently over the stovetop over medium-low heat. You can try freezing it if you’d like, for up to 3 months: the vegetables will be even softer after thawing.
Pro tip: One reader shared that her mother froze batches and added them to an omelet with shredded cheese, a genius use for a classic omelette! Alex has also added leftovers to his breakfast tacos. You can also warm it in a skillet and crack eggs right into the sauce to cook them, kind of like shakshuka.
More French Recipes To Try
- Make Nicoise salad, the classic French main dish salad from Nice
- Opt for pomme frites with aioli, a classic creamy fry dip
- Go for French onion soup
- Try tangy, vinaigrette-based French potato salad
Dietary Notes
This ratatouille recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Classic Ratatouille Recipe
Pin RecipeThis classic ratatouille recipe is a cozy French vegetable stew of eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. Serve it with crusty bread and pistou for a satisfying meal!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant, cut into 3/4” pieces
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch thick bite-sized chunks
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 yellow onion, sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 1 large tomato, roughly chopped
- 28-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup roughly chopped basil
- Pistou, for serving
Instructions
- Chop the eggplant, zucchini, green pepper, and onion and add them to a large bowl. (Mince the garlic and set it aside.) Add the 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon kosher salt and toss to combine.
- In a large frying pan or large cast iron skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add half of the vegetables and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until lightly browned (not fully cooked) and remove to a bowl.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add another drizzle of olive oil and cook the second half of the veggies in the same manner for about 5 minutes, then remove them to the same bowl.
- Keep the heat on medium. Add the minced garlic to the hot pan. Cook about 10 seconds, stirring constantly. Then add the chopped fresh tomatoes with their liquid and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, cooked vegetables, and the remaining ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
- Simmer on medium heat about 30 minutes until all the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. (While it’s simmering, make the pistou.)
- When ready to serve, stir in the lemon juice and chopped basil. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if desired. Top with pistou if using. Leftovers last refrigerated for up to 3 days.
from A Couple Cooks https://ift.tt/F2OiP9s
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