Simple Ratatouille Recipe (a French Classic)
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
12 mins
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Cook Time
35 mins
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Servings
6
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Course
Side Dish, Main Course
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Cuisine
French
Simple Ratatouille Recipe (a French Classic)
Description
Simple Ratatouille Recipe (a French Classic) brings together layers of vegetables including onions, garlic, red, green, and yellow bell peppers, aubergine, and zucchini. These are cooked slowly with canned Italian chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, and herbes de Provence. The method involves softening the aromatics first, then frying the peppers and other vegetables before simmering everything to meld the flavors and soften the vegetables through a gentle cooking process.
The resulting dish has tender vegetables with a savory tomato base accented by fragrant herbs, developing a mild sweetness and deep flavor from caramelization and slow cooking. The texture is soft but holds the identity of each vegetable, yielding a hearty, saucy vegetable composition.
Serve ratatouille as a side dish alongside meats or fish, or on a bed of spaghetti or other pasta for a vegetarian meal. Garnishing with Parmesan cheese shavings and fresh basil leaves adds a finishing touch of umami and freshness.
An easy way to enhance the tomato flavor is to rinse the canned tomato juice with water and add it to the pot. The dish develops deeper flavor when allowed to sit a day or two after preparation.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion chopped, large
- 3 garlic crushed, large cloves
- 1 red bell pepper deseeded and diced, medium
- 1 green bell pepper deseeded and diced, medium
- 1 yellow bell pepper deseeded and diced, medium or orange bell pepper
- 1 aubergine diced, large
- 2 zucchini sliced into half-moon shapes, medium size
- 400 g chopped tomatoes 14 oz can, Italian
- 2 tomato puree heaped tablespoon, Italian
- 1 tsp herbes de provence or Italian mixed herbs
- 120 ml water \/ 4 fl oz
- salt sea salt and freshly ground
- black pepper sea salt and freshly ground
Garnish
- Parmesan Cheese optional, shavings
- basil optional, fresh leaves
Instructions
- Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan on a low to medium heat and soften the onion and garlic for about 7-10 mins under a lid stirring occasionally.
- Add another tbsp of olive oil, the chopped peppers, aubergine (eggplant) and courgette (zucchini) and fry stirring continuously for about 10 minutes (longer for a more caramelised flavour).
- Add the tinned chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, mixed herbs, seasoning and water.
- Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (until vegetables are cooked through).
- Serve ratatouille garnished with Parmesan cheese shavings and basil leaves (optional) as a side dish or on a bed of spaghetti/pasta.
Notes
- Rinse out and add the tomato can juice to the pot to enhance tomato flavor.
- Allow the dish to rest for one to two days as flavors develop with time.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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