The Ratatouille

How not to fall in love with one of the most emblematic recipes of the South of France and more particularly of the cuisine of Nice: the RATATATOUILLE. 

Colourful, tasty, nutritious and so easy to prepare, ratatouille is one of the most typical dishes of the French culinary heritage.

He gave his name to the Pixar studios film released in 2007. 

This dish is only a few centuries old! Indeed, the vegetables essential to this recipe were imported into Provence only very late.

The word "ratatouille" derives from the Occitan word "ratatolha" which indicates, as early as the 14th century, a preparation of vegetable stew. This word comes from military canteens, where dishes were prepared with vegetables, beans, potatoes, bread and very fatty meat. A very simple but extremely nutritious dish, adapted to be prepared quickly to provide the necessary energy to face the fighting.

Like any traditional dish, ratatouille also has a source in the poor environment. The farmers of Provence originally prepared this dish using what they could find more easily at hand, and especially the vegetables from their garden such as aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes, all with garlic.

Served hot or cold as a side dish or starter, it will multiply its flavours by being prepared the day before and then reheated.

Recipe

🕜 Preparation time: 20 mn

🕜 Cooking time: 1h 

👥 Number of portions: 4

For this recipe you will need...

🟊 1 yellow onion 

🟊 2 cloves of garlic 

🟊 2 zucchini 

🟊 1 green pepper

🟊 1 eggplant

🟊 3 tomatoes 

🟊 Olive oil 

🟊 salt, sugar, pepper 

🟊 thyme and bay leaf 

Let's move on! 

1 Wash and cut the zucchini, eggplant, green pepper and red pepper into medium cubes. Cut the tomatoes into quarters and slice the onion. 

 

2 Heat oil in a saucepan and add the onions to cook for 5 minutes. 

At the same time, in a frying pan, pour a little olive oil and fry the different vegetables one after the other for 5 to 10 minutes so that they colour. Start with the peppers, then the aubergines, courgettes and finally the tomatoes with the minced garlic. 

Each time you finish cooking a vegetable, add it to the pan (fire out). 

 

3 After gathering all the vegetables, add a nice bouquet of thyme, rosemary and bay leaves, salt, pepper and cover to simmer for 40 minutes, stirring regularly.

4 About 10 minutes before the end of cooking, do not hesitate to taste and season again according to your taste.

Feel free to leave me your opinion on the recipe if you have tried it at home or if you have already tasted the ratatouille! We'll see you soon for a new recipe. 

Bon appétit ❣