Traditional French Ratatouille is a delicious dish made with your surplus of summer veggies. Made with an array of fresh ingredients including baby eggplants, zucchini, bell peppers, and tomatoes, ratatouille is a colorful and tasty summer vegetable stew.
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The Inspiration Behind My Ratatouille
Today I was inspired by one of my favorite Pixar films, Ratatouille, a movie about a rat who would do anything to be a chef at the highly acclaimed Auguste Gusteau's restaurant in Paris.
I had four fresh squash on my kitchen counter. The baby eggplants that were left over from my baby eggplant parmigiana and my new basil pants were talking to me. It was time to make ratatouille.
Traditional French Ratatouille dates back to Provence, France, hundreds of years ago. Originally, it was a way to make the most of the abundance of late summer vegetables, just as it continues to be today.
Follow along for an easy ratatouille recipe that you can enjoy now or freeze for later. You're going to love this!
What You Need
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Fresh garlic
- Yellow onions
- Green bell pepper
- Eggplant. (I used baby eggplant or Indian eggplant. You can use full-size eggplants, too)
- Zucchini and/or yellow squash
- Fresh tomatoes or sub (1) 28-ounce can of San Marzano whole or crushed tomatoes. You can also use cherry tomatoes if that's what you have.
- Sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh thyme
- Fresh basil leaves
How to Peel Tomatoes
I peel the tomatoes before making this dish. If you are using fresh tomatoes, this extra step takes 5 minutes and you will have a smoother finished dish.
It's simple to do and you won't have to fish out rolled-up skins from your finished dish.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the tomatoes and cook for one minute. Remove from the water and plunge into a large bowl of ice and water.
Let them sit for one minute, and when cool enough to handle, lift the tomatoes out of the water and peel the skin off.
Once peeled, cut them in half or quarters and scoop out the seeds. Dice the tomatoes.
How to Cook Ratatouille
- With a sharp knife, dice all the vegetables.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly until soft, but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the diced tomatoes. Cook for 4 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
- Add baby eggplant, squash, bell peppers, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Season with salt and pepper; stir.
- Cover the pot and simmer on medium-low for one hour.
- Lift the vegetables from the pot and place them in a large bowl.
- Reduce the liquid in the pot by half over high heat until you have a syrup-like sauce.
- Add the vegetables back to the pot and combine with the sauce. Add basil leaves.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve hot or refrigerate until ready to use.
Additional Seasonings for Ratatouille
To spice up the ratatouille, try you can add red pepper flakes or Tabasco hot sauce.
For serving, you can top the ratatouille with grated parmesan cheese, parsley, and whole basil leaves.
Storage
Let the ratatouille come to room temperature and store it in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer. To freeze, place the containers in the back of the freezer. They should be good for about 6 months.
Uses for Traditional French Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a thick vegetable stew. It can be a hot or cold side dish, sandwich filling, rice, or pasta topping.
It can be enjoyed in the following ways:
- Side dish: Serve alongside grilled or roasted meats, such as chicken, steak, lamb, or fish.
- Appetizer: Serve cold with crackers for a delicious appetizer.
- Pasta: You can serve ratatouille over cooked pasta. Top it with some grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil and garnish with fresh herbs.
- Rice: Spread ratatouille over rice with a sprinkle of goat cheese or feta cheese. You can add some sauteed shrimp or poached eggs over the top for extra protein.
- Eggs: Ratatouille can be used as a filling for omelets. Simply spoon it into the center of your beaten eggs and cook until set.
- Sandwich or wrap: Spread ratatouille on bread, baguette, or in a wrap with some roasted or grilled vegetables for a vegetable sandwich.
- Salad: Chilled ratatouille can be served as a cold salad. With a drizzle of olive oil over it, you have a healthy gluten-free vegan meal.
- With Crusty Bread: Simply serve ratatouille in a bowl with some crusty bread on the side for dipping.
Some More Baby Eggplant Recipes
- Roasted Baby Eggplant Poppers are simply roasted baby eggplants. Oil, salt, and pepper are all you need to bring out the delicious taste of little eggplants.
- Baby Eggplant Parmigiana is a blend of ricotta and Locatelli Romano cheese stuffed into scooped-out mini eggplants. Covered in marinara and mozzarella, these delightful baby eggplants are a delicious meal.
Summary
By the end of the summer, home gardeners have had their fair share of salads with homegrown tomatoes, sauteed zucchini, and homemade eggplant parmesan.
This easy ratatouille recipe can be served with chicken, steak, rice, and pasta. It can also be eaten as a cold salad on its own. This vegan recipe cooks in one hour and is easy to make.
The best ratatouille recipe will be the one you make with your fresh vegetables.
FAQ
It takes about an hour and 15 minutes to make ratatouille. If you do not peel your tomatoes, you will save 10 minutes.
Ratatouille is made with summer vegetables, including tomatoes, eggplant, squash, onions, peppers, and garlic. It is seasoned with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme and basil.
Yes, ratatouille is a vegan dish made with vegetables, olive oil, herbs, and spices.
Try Ratatouille with fish, steak, burgers, and chicken dishes. You can stuff tacos with the French vegetable stew and top them with cheese. Try rice, baked sweet potatoes, or crispy roasted potatoes.
Yes, freeze the ratatouille in pint-size containers and defrost as needed. The contents will be good for 6 months.
"📖 Recipe"
Traditional French Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 ½ cups diced yellow onions about 3 medium onions
- 1 diced green or red bell pepper
- 6-8 baby eggplants, stemmed and quartered (or 1 medium sized eggplant, peeled *see note (1) below)
- 3 cups diced green zucchini and/or yellow squash
- 2 pounds fresh tomatoes*
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- a handful of fresh basil (if available)
Instructions
TO PEEL THE TOMATOES
- Bring a medium-sized pot of water to a rapid boil. While the water is heating, prepare a big bowl of ice water. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water and after one minute plunge them into the ice water. When cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Quarter the tomatoes and scoop out the seeds. Dice and set aside.
TO MAKE THE STEW
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly until soft, but not brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes. Cook for 4 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and start to fall apart. Add eggplant, squash, bell peppers, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Season with salt and pepper; stir.
- Cover the pot and simmer on low for one hour.
- Lift the vegetables from the pot and place in a large bowl.
- Reduce the liquid in the pot by half over high heat until you have a syrup-like sauce.
- Add the vegetables back to the pot and combine with the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot or refrigerate until ready to use.
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