Ratatouille: How to Make French Ratatouille

FRENCH RATATOUILLE

• Author: Romae Chanice Marquez
• Recipe Category: Main Dish/Side Dish
• Cuisine: French

Ratatouille is a light, chunky vegetable soup from the summer, rich in olive oil and fragrant with garlic and herbs. Ratatouille can be a side dish and a main dish. The whole preparation and cooking time is for at least one hour. This recipe is suitable for at least eight people.

The French-style Ratatouille is gaining popularity all over the world because of its authenticity and unique taste. Photo credits to: @conunapizcadesal.

French Ratatouille Ingredients

For the vegetables,

• 2 eggplants
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 2 yellow squashes
• 2 zucchinis

For the sauce,

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (795 g)
• 2 tablespoons of chopped Basil leaves (8-10 leaves)

For the seasoning,

• 2 of tablespoons of chopped fresh basil, from 8-10 leaves
• 1 teaspoon of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons of pure thyme salt, and pepper to taste
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil

French Ratatouille Instructions

Step 1: Cut the eggplant, vegetables, squash, and zucchini into stacks about 1⁄16-inch (1-mm) thick, then set them aside.

Step 2: Preheat the oven for 375˚F (190˚C).

Step 3: For the sauce, heat the oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch (30-cm) oven-safe pan. Drizzle over the onion, garlic, and bell peppers for about 10 minutes gently and add the crushed tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Remove until you’ve completely integrated the ingredients. Remove from heat, then add the basil. Stir once more, then smooth the surface of the sauce with a spatula.

Step 5: Arrange the sliced veggies from the outer edge to the center of the pan in alternating patterns on top of the sauce — season with salt and pepper.

Step 6: Use foil to cover the pan and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover, then bake, until the vegetables loosen for another 20 minutes.

Step 7: Mix herb seasoning ingredients and pour them over the cooked Ratatouille.

Step 8: Serve as a primary or side dish while it’s warm. Also, the next day, the Ratatouille is better— covered with foil and reheated for 15 minutes in a 350 uF (180 uF) oven or just microwaved at the required temperature.

French Ratatouille Additional Information

• The French Ratatouille dish is rich in Dietary Fiber, Vitamin B6, Folate, and Potassium, and it is an excellent source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and Manganese. 
• Other nations close to the Mediterranean also prepare the same sort of recipe. Different versions of the same dish are the Catalan “samfaina” and the Mallorcan “Tombet”.
• The Maltese language version is called Kapunata. It comes with grilled carp, very comparable to the French recipe, and it’s called Caponata in Italian, Pisto in Spanish, and Lecsó in Hungarian.
• This recipe serves at least 8 people.
• Cook/prep time is around an hour.