Local Food Blog

A long-established French poached vegetable dish deriving basically from the city of Nice is a dish that whose name embraces two key constituents- “rata” which means chunky stew in French and “touiller” that means to stir. Mingling of these words together makes Ratatouille, a thick stew that is stirred and served as a side dish or an entree with pasta, bread, or rice.

This delicious dish apart from being rich in its flavor also enables us to prepare it in varied editions of taste and method. The grilled fresh veggies in it are quite tasty. The basic essential ingredients of this dish are tomatoes, peppers, garlic, herbs, zucchini, eggplant, onions and carrot. But, I want my Ratatouille to be of lighter and slightly crunchier edition with different flavors to be added depending on my disposition. Despite the conventional seasonings in market like bay leaf, basil, parsley, marjoram and others I love to explore with new tangs all the time. I also prefer to have it with savory crepes and French bread with some mixed green salad; and of course a glass of wine accompanied is just enough to make up a wonderful evening.

As Ratatouille is more of an experimental dish it doesn’t have a specific recipe. It is obviously open for everyone to construe and try out it the way they want according to their tastes and choices. So, give your tastes and likings a chance to stir you up with unique ideas and thereby create your own signature edition of ratatouille. Relish!

Here is the conventional recipe of Ratatouille:

Ingredients

• 2 onion, sliced into thin rings
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium eggplant, cubed
• 2 zucchini, cubed
• 2 medium yellow squash, cubed
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and cubed
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 chopped red bell pepper
• 4 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft.
2. In a large skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and saute the zucchini in batches until slightly browned on all sides. Remove the zucchini and place in the pot with the onions and garlic.
3. Saute the entire remaining vegetables one batch at a time, adding 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet each time you add a new set of vegetables. Once each batch has been sautéed add them to the large pot as was done in step 2.
4. Season with salt and pepper. Add the bay leaf and thyme and cover the pot. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and parsley to the large pot, cook another 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
6. Remove the bay leaf and adjust seasoning.