Classic French Ratatouille

This lovely Provencal-inspired Classic French Ratatouille has all the summer veggie goodness going on with eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and sweet bell peppers simmered to perfection in a lively tomato sauce.

It’s THE dish to make with your summer vegetable garden abundance, after a trip to the farmer’s market or for a quick culinary escape to the south of France any time of year!

Why This Recipe is a Keeper:

If ever there was a summer comfort food, Classic French Ratatouille has got to be it.  It’s a dish I eagerly look forward to making every summer when our garden goes into high gear.  Ratatouille is a great way to use up garden produce and it tastes better the next day!

What is Ratatouille?  Ratatouille is a rustic southern French vegetable stew made with eggplant, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, and tomatoes.  In some versions, the vegetables are combined and cooked together for a long period of time until they practically melt.

In other versions, the vegetables are sautéed, browned or roasted in stages, combined and then stewed in the oven or on the stovetop.

I prefer the stovetop method and only briefly simmer the stew on the stovetop because the vegetables retain more of their texture.

Ratatouille requires some knife work, but all the vegetables are cut into ½-inch or 1-inch pieces which goes much faster than chopping or cutting them into a fine dice.

Another reason Ratatouille rocks is, it’s so versatile. Enjoy it over brown rice, quinoa, couscous or with crusty, toasted or grilled French bread. It can be served hot, room temperature or even cold.

Recipe Ingredients:

Ingredient Notes:

• Eggplant:  Eggplant is one of the main ingredients in Classic French Ratatouille. It’s commonly believed that eggplant must always be salted before cooking to draw out the bitterness. However, eggplant characteristically has a mild but pleasing bitterness so it’s a personal preference. It’s only when an eggplant gets large and seedy that it develops a pronounced bitter flavor. For this dish, I do salt the eggplant because it won’t absorb as much oil when cooked. Extracting liquid from the eggplant makes it less spongy, resulting in less oil absorption. After draining and before cooking, pat dry with paper towels to remove the excess moisture and salt.
• Bell Peppers:  Use any sweet bell pepper or combination:  Red, Yellow or Orange.
• Dry White Wine:  If you don’t wish to use alcohol, use vegetable broth or even water.
• Crushed Tomatoes: Use canned crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes that you crush yourself or a fresh tomato sauce such as my Parma-Style Tomato Sauce.
• Seasonings:  Even though Ratatouille is all about summer freshness, I use dried oregano because the flavor is concentrated and is released as the stew simmers.  Fresh herbs are always best added near the end of the cooking process but I didn’t want fresh oregano and fresh basil competing with one another.

Step-By-Step Instructions:

• Gather and measure all the ingredients.  The French call this mise en place or “everything in its place” which refers to the set-up before cooking.
• Cube the eggplant and place it in a colander.  Give it a generous salting with a teaspoon or so of salt.

• Chop the remaining vegetables while the eggplant drains.

• Pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel.  Heat some of the olive oil in a Dutch oven and brown the eggplant.  Transfer it to a bowl.

• Refresh the oil if needed then add the zucchini and yellow squash.  Cook until it begins to brown and soften a bit.  Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant.

• Refresh the oil again if needed.  Toss in the onion and cook until it begins to soften then add the bell peppers.  Cook that a bit until it softens up then add the garlic and give it a stir until it’s fragrant.
• Add the white wine, bring to a boil and let that reduce 1-2 minutes.

• Add the crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, dried oregano and crushed red pepper flakes.

• Return the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash to the pot and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

• Season with salt and pepper and toss in the fresh basil.
• Delish!

Chef Tips and Tricks:

• The eggplant needs approximately 20-30 minutes to drain in the colander so do that before doing any other chopping.  That amount of time gives you time to prep the remaining vegetables. 
• After the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash are browned, remove it as quickly as possible from the Dutch oven.  If left to sit in the oil even for half a minute, it will absorb oil.
• Rub dried herbs such as the oregano in this dish between your fingers as you sprinkle it into the pot.  This helps to “wake up” the flavor of dried herbs and spices.

Frequently Asked Questions:

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