Ratatouille

I hope you’re ready to parle francais because today’s post is all about ratatouille.  And no folks, I’m not talking about the Pixar movie. No, the ratatouille that I’m referring to is a classic French dish that hails all the way from the southern region of Provence.  It originated as a cheap meal for poor peasant families and is composed of roughly chopped vegetables quickly stewed in a tomato, garlic, and herb sauce. It’s tastes great, is perfect for those who are vegetarian/vegan, and best of all it doesn’t require the help of a hyper-intelligent rat to make it.

Tips, Tricks, & Suggestions

• This dish is meant to be rustic so don’t worry too much about making uniformly sized cuts for all of the veggies.  Just make sure that they are generally the same size.
• If you want the ratatouille to be a little soupier then you can add in a cup of vegetable stock.  However, if you want it to have less liquid then you should simmer it uncovered during step 4.
• I like to serve this as a main dish with some crunchy bread or as a side dish with our glazed ham, or marinated beef tenderloin recipes.

Ratatouille Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 to 40 minutes

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients

1 Large eggplant, cut into 1-inch sized cubes

1 Zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into ½ inch sized pieces

1 Yellow squash, Cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into ½ inch sized pieces

1 Red bell pepper, deseeded and cut into 1-inch sized pieces

1 Green bell pepper, deseeded and cut into 1-inch sized pieces

1 Medium sized onion, diced

2 Lbs of tomatoes, diced

4 Cloves of garlic, minced

½ Cup of dry white wine

1 Teaspoon of black pepper

½ Teaspoon of paprika

½ Teaspoon of dried thyme

¼ Teaspoon of dried rosemary

¼ Teaspoon of dried oregano

1 Bay leaf

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Garnish:

Fresh basil

Instructions

1. Prep & cut all of the veggies so that they are ready to go.

2. Sautee the onion garlic & bell pepper:  Get out either a large pot or a dutch oven and pour about 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in it.  Place this over medium heat and saute the onion until it becomes translucent. Then add in the garlic and bell peppers sauteeing them for an additional 5 minutes.

3. Add in the remaining ingredients:  Toss in the remaining vegetables, white wine, and herbs/spices.  Stir it all together and let it come to a boil for about 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes break down a form a sauce.

4. Let it simmer: After the tomatoes have broken down into a sauce and begins to boil, cover the pot.  Then lower the heat and let everything simmer for 20 minutes.

5. After the 20 minutes taste the ratatouille to see if it needs any salt.

6. Serve the ratatouille in a bowl with some shredded basil as a garnish.  Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Ratatouille Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 Large eggplant cut into 1-inch sized cubes
• 1 Zucchini cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into ½ inch sized pieces
• 1 Yellow squash Cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into ½ inch sized pieces
• 1 Red bell pepper deseeded and cut into 1-inch sized pieces
• 1 Green bell pepper deseeded and cut into 1-inch sized pieces
• 1 Medium sized onion diced
• 2 Lbs of tomatoes diced
• 4 Cloves of garlic minced
• ½ Cup of dry white wine
• 1 Teaspoon of black pepper
• ½ Teaspoon of paprika
• ½ Teaspoon of dried thyme
• ¼ Teaspoon of dried rosemary
• ¼ Teaspoon of dried oregano
• 1 Bay leaf
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

Garnish

• Fresh basil

Instructions

• Prep & cut all of the veggies so that they are ready to go.
• Sautee the onion garlic & bell pepper: Get out either a large pot or a dutch oven and pour about 3 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in it. Place this over medium heat and saute the onion until it becomes translucent. Then add in the garlic and bell peppers sauteeing them for an additional 5 minutes.
• Add in the remaining ingredients: Toss in the remaining vegetables, white wine, and herbs/spices. Stir it all together and let it come to a boil for about 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes break down a form a sauce.
• Let it simmer: After the tomatoes have broken down into a sauce and begins to boil, cover the pot. Then lower the heat and let everything simmer for 20 minutes.
• After the 20 minutes taste the ratatouille to see if it needs any salt.
• Serve the ratatouille in a bowl with some shredded basil as a garnish. Enjoy!

Inspiration from other blogs

From The Mediterranean Dish

From Simply Recipes