Ratatouille I
Serves 3–4 Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 9 Steps 11
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.
Ingredients
- 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
Steps
- Put a large casserole on the stove on medium heat.
- When hot, add enough olive oil to just cover the bottom.
- Cut the zucchini and eggplant into ½ inch slices. Cut into rectangles of about 3x1 inches. Add to the casserole.
- Sauté the slices until light brown. Remove from the pan. Set aside.
- Chop the onions and garlic. Cut the green pepper into strips or dice.
- Add more oil if needed. Cook the onions and peppers slowly about 10 minutes until tender, not brown. Stir in the garlic.
- Peel and seed the tomatoes. Dice or quarter. Add to the casserole. Add salt to bring out their juices. Cover. Lower the heat.
- After 5 minutes, check the juice. It should almost cover the vegetables; if not, add a little water.
- Add salt, pepper and Herbes de Provence to taste (generally 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, 1 tbsp herbs).
- Return the zucchini and eggplant. Blend gently with the tomato-onion-pepper mixture. Cover. Simmer on low heat 10–20 minutes until the vegetables are tender but intact.
- Remove the lid. Raise the heat a little. Cook uncovered another 15 minutes, basting frequently, until the liquids have mostly evaporated, leaving a small amount of juice and olive oil.
Notes from the original
- 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.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Ratatouille I” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-19, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo. Ratatouille.jpg by Marcus Guimarães, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.