This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ratatouille is a classic French dish that showcases the best of summer vegetables. It’s a hearty and healthy stew of eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic, cooked in olive oil and herbs.
This easy ratatouille recipe is so simple to make and can be enjoyed as a main course with bread or rice, or as a side dish with meat or fish. It’s also vegan and gluten-free, making it a great option for anyone with dietary restrictions.
Ratatouille is not only delicious, but also nutritious, as it’s packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from the colorful veggies. Whether you’re looking for a cozy comfort food or a light and fresh meal, ratatouille is the perfect recipe for you!
I have seen so much confusion about this classic Southern France dish since the Ratatouille movie came out a few years ago.
In the Disney movie, Remy the Rat is a chef who cooks the ratatouille in a very fancy way where vegetables are layered in a baking dish and baked for hours.
However, a classic French ratatouille recipe is far from that Ratatouille movie recipe. What you see in the movie is in fact one of the ways fancy French restaurants serve ratatouille.
But let’s come back to the basics and share my easy ratatouille recipe, the one every French mum makes for their kids.
It was originally, like many other humble recipes, a poor man’s food and was a way of using whatever vegetables were left.
An authentic French ratatouille, also called Ratatouille Niçoise is a vegetarian dish made of slowly cooked onion, red bell pepper, eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes.
The particularity of a French ratatouille is all the flavors of olive oil and Mediterranean herbs like thyme, oregano, or rosemary.
The word ratatouille comes from Occitan ratatolha. The dish is a traditional vegetable stew that was once known as a poor man’s meal but is now one of the most known and loved around the world.
Did You Like This Recipe?
Leave a comment below or head to our Facebook page for tips, our Instagram page for inspiration, our Pinterest for saving recipes, and Flipboard to get all the new ones!
Tips For The Best Ratatouille Recipe Every Time
Classic French ratatouille is an easy vegetable stew, and the key to making it perfect every time is to follow these three tips:
- Don’t Peel The Vegetable – Even the thick eggplant skin must stay in or the eggplant gets mushy.
- Cut The Vegetable into small cubes of the same size, except for the zucchini – zucchinis cook faster, and as a result, if you want to keep some texture from zucchinis they must be cut in larger chunks. I like to cut them in half moons, but you can slice zucchinis in thick slices or large quarters.
- Don’t Skip The Herbs – what makes ratatouille so flavorsome is that combination of Provence herbs from the South of France. Of course, you can play with them, adding more of one or the other but focus on the classic ones which are thyme, rosemary, and marjoram. You can add fresh basil, but it’s less conventional.
Ratatouille Anton Ego review
FAQ
Is ratatouille really a peasant dish?
Is ratatouille dish for the poor?
Is ratatouille a luxury dish?
What is ratatouille considered?
What is Ratatouille & why should you eat it?
Think of the vegetables that grow well in your yard, ready to be picked together in late summer and early fall — that’s ratatouille. It’s a stew of zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant, with herbs and spices and some onions and garlic usually thrown in for good measure.
Is Ratatouille a peasant’s dish?
A French farmer’s dish, ratatouille is simply a bunch of vegetables that slowly cook together in a large vessel. It was once considered a peasant’s dish, but the summer stew eventually became worthy of appearing on restaurant menus throughout the world.
Is Ratatouille a modern dish?
At that point, it became the modern version of the eggplant, zucchini, pepper and tomato dish we enjoy today, and many chefs get creative with riffs on the classic preparation, adding other vegetables or trying different preparation styles. What Is Ratatouille?
What is Ratatouille on Amazon?
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Ratatouille is a classic French dish that showcases the best of summer vegetables. It’s a hearty and healthy stew of eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, onion and garlic, cooked in olive oil and herbs.