Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (2024)

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe

Once upon a time, in a far away land, the world was peaceful and there was a beautifully dressed, perfectly fit, well-rested, wrinkle-free, stress-free, homemaker. She spent her days drinking coffee, attending to her perfect and well behaved childrenwhilecontemplating which new shade of lipstick she should wear to highlight her strong cheekbones and natural glow. She was awesome.

But then she died, and I came around. Yes, I. I in my “sloppy pants” – as Georgia calls them. I in all my makeup free glory. I with my “bumpy hair” – as Owen pointed out. I in my messy kitchen, spit-up-on tshirt, and crusty house. I.

But I have the best traditional ratatouille recipeknown to man in my back pocket. So even if the house is a hot mess, as am I, as are my children, as is the garden, as is the car, as is the barnyard, as is life, I don't care. Because ratatouille we eat.

Ratatouille is a fancy word for diced and sauteed summer vegetables – onions, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes. So much more than the sum of it's parts.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (1)

See what I mean? It's like joy on a plate. Each summer,when the sun heats up the garden bed and those long-day vegetables begin to ripen, traditional ratatouille is the very first dish on my to-make list. Year upon year, I spend July and August and September engorging myself on the very best summer veg the garden has to offer and the majority of the time, it's in the form of this traditional ratatouille recipe. Because why mess with success, baby?

There are, however, a few secrets for making ratatouille delicious. Allow me to share such important and knowledgable wisdom with you:

  1. Only use the very best produce you can find. Make sure it's fully ripe.
  2. Sauté each vegetable separately. This ensures that some vegetables aren't overdone while others are underdone. Each vegetable must be cooked separatelyto it's perfect “doneness”.
  3. Let it rest. Give the ratatouille at least 15 minutes, up to a few hours, torest.This allows the vegetables to relax andthe flavors to mingle. A mingled ratatouille is a delicious ratatouille.
  4. Don't skip the bay leaves. I'm not exactly sure what it is about them, but they add a deep dimension to this dish that cannot be skipped. I've made it without them a few times and it just doesn't sing to my heart and sooth my soul like it does when I've used bay leaves. And, as we all know, I love it when food sings to my heart and soothes my soul. So bay leaf we must.
  5. Salt and pepper each vegetable individually. Some vegetables require more salt than others, so salting each vegetable individually as you cook it helps to dial in the level perfectly.
  6. Seed the tomatoes (more on this below).
  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • A few sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 4 bell peppers
  • 3 medium eggplant
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 4 large tomatoes
  • Sea salt and pepper, to taste
  1. Gather the ingredients from your garden, or from your farmers market, or from your neighbor's garden (just make sure that you pay them for said produce…. or invite them over for ratatouille!)

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (2)

2. Heat a medium-sized cast iron skillet up on your stove. Add in the olive oil, thyme, and bay leaves. Crush the garlic, remove the skins, and add the whole cloves into the skillet as well. This is our base of ingredients that we will keep in there the entire time.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (3)

3. Over medium heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil, garlic, and herbs until just soft. Leave it with the teeniest bit of crunch.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (4)

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (5)

Remove the onion to a place, reserving the thyme, bay leaves, and garlic in the pan.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (6)

Oh, by the way, now is a good time to open up a bottle of Zinfandel. Because – remember? – you're a hot mess.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (7)

4. Now it's the pepper's turn. Here is my random assortment that Owen so graciously pulled for me from the garden. Dice the peppers and toss them into the skillet. Add a bit more olive oil, if need be, to keep it all moist and sauté-like.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (8)

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (9)

Remove the peppers when they're still slightly crunchy and place atop the onions, reserving the thyme, bay leaves and garlic in the pan – once again. Are you catching onto the pattern?

5. Next, the eggplant. Diced and sauté. Eggplant has a tendency to soak up the olive oil, so add a bit more if need be. Don't overcook the eggplant! Ain't nobody like overcooked eggplant. Remove the eggplant and once again, repeat the same process with the zucchini.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (10)

6. And lastly, the tomatoes. Now, don't forget this secret: SEED THE TOMATOES. Seeds are wet. Wet is soggy. Ratatouille should not be soggy. And Amen. My super fancy method of seeding tomatoes is sticking my thumb into them and squeezing it out over my compost bucket. Ridiculously therapeutic.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (11)

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (12)

Dice and sauté until slightly cooked. Spoon onto the rest of the vegetables, omitting the thyme stems and garlic cloves.

7. Let's gently stir to bring it all together, shall we? Salt and pepper to taste. And then, we let it rest. Rest, ratatouille, rest. Meanwhile, I'm going to finish drinking this glass of Zinfandel, cook up a small pot of rice, and pull the chicken out of the oven.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (13)

8. Garnish with fresh thyme and freshly ground black pepper. Then, break off the drumstick and thigh from a homegrown chicken, pour yourselfanotherglass of wine, and partake in the best traditional ratatouille recipe on God's green earth.

You thought I was joking about the second glass of wine, didn't you? I wasn't. I never joke about wine.

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (14)

Vegetables are not boring – rather, fresh vegetables at their peak ripeness are a culinary dream. This traditional ratatouille recipe plays on that simplistic magic and turns those inexpensive, overabundant vegetables into something quite wonderful.

I hope you enjoy!

Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (15)

  • 1/4 cup good olive oil
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • A few sprigs fresh thyme
  • 2 yellow onions
  • 4 bell peppers
  • 3 medium eggplant
  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 4 large tomatoes
  • Sea salt and pepper (to taste)
  1. Heat a medium-sized cast iron skillet up on your stove. Add in the olive oil, thyme, and bay leaves. Crush the garlic, remove the skins, and add the whole cloves into the skillet as well. This is our base of ingredients that we will keep in there the entire time.
  2. Over medium heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil, garlic, and herbs until just soft. Leave it with the teeniest bit of crunch.
  3. Remove the onion to a place, reserving the thyme, bay leaves, and garlic in the pan.
  4. Dice the peppers and toss them into the skillet. Add a bit more olive oil, if need be, to keep it all moist and sauté-like.
  5. Remove the peppers when they’re still slightly crunchy and place atop the onions, reserving the thyme, bay leaves and garlic in the pan – once again. Are you catching onto the pattern?
  6. Next, the eggplant. Diced and sauté. Eggplant has a tendency to soak up the olive oil, so add a bit more if need be. Don’t overcook the eggplant! Ain’t nobody like overcooked eggplant. Remove the eggplant and once again, repeat the same process with the zucchini.
  7. And lastly, the tomatoes. Now, don’t forget this secret: SEED THE TOMATOES. Seeds are wet. Wet is soggy. Ratatouille should not be soggy.
  8. Dice and sauté until slightly cooked. Spoon onto the rest of the vegetables, omitting the thyme stems and garlic cloves.
  9. Let’s gently stir to bring it all together, shall we? Salt and pepper to taste. And then, we let it rest. Rest, ratatouille, rest.
  10. Garnish with fresh thyme and freshly ground black pepper.

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Traditional Ratatouille Recipe - Shaye Elliott (2024)

FAQs

What is the origin of the ratatouille recipe? ›

The modern recipe for Ratatouille originated in the Nice and Provencal regions of France. Its official French name is Ratatouille Niçoise. The traditional recipe calls for tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, peppers and onions.

Why is ratatouille so healthy? ›

Ratatouille is packed with dietary fiber, potassium, vitamins A, C and K, folate and much more. With so many vegetables included, you're bound to meet the recommended daily amount of veggies your body needs.

What are the most common ingredients used in ratatouille? ›

Ratatouille is a French Provencal dish that consists of stewed vegetables. Though recipes and ingredients vary, there are some ingredients that are almost always used: eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and bell peppers.

What is a peasant dish ratatouille? ›

A French farmer's dish, ratatouille is simply a bunch of vegetables that slowly cook together in a large vessel. It was once considered a peasant's dish, but the summer stew eventually became worthy of appearing on restaurant menus throughout the world.

What is the true story behind ratatouille? ›

This heartbreaking story was not an invention. Pixar took inspiration from Bernard Loiseau, a gastronomical legend from France who died by suicide when he found out about a star that was going to be knocked off. Like Gusteau, Loiseau was also a pioneer in French cuisine, and foodies would recognize the parallels well.

What does ratatouille mean in French? ›

The word ratatouille derives from the Occitan ratatolha and is related to the French ratouiller and tatouiller, expressive forms of the verb touiller, meaning "to stir up". From the late 18th century, in French, it merely indicated a coarse stew.

What do French people eat ratatouille with? ›

Ratatouille can be served as a first course with bread; it can also be served as a side dish, as you would any vegetable side. However, I most enjoy serving ratatouille as a main-ish dish; that is, as an anchor to a summer's dinner. I love serving it with flatbread or artisanal crackers and a good array of cheeses.

What are 10 foods that were in Ratatouille? ›

A classic ratatouille includes eggplant (aubergines), zucchini (courgettes), bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil and herbs.

Is the cooking in ratatouille accurate? ›

The movie Ratatouille is probably the most accurate gastronomic film about three-Michelin-star cooking that has ever been made, if you take away the rats in the kitchen.

What is the secret for a good ratatouille? ›

Ratatouille requires ripe vegetables, a liberal hand with the olive oil, and patience: only long, slow cooking will give you the creamy soft vegetables, and intense, almost jammy sauce that sings of the sun. Anything else is just plain vegetable stew.

How to cut tomatoes for ratatouille? ›

Hold upright, cut around the stalk, then cut into 3 pieces. Cut away any membrane, then chop into bite-size chunks. Score a small cross on the base of each of 4 large ripe tomatoes, then put them into a heatproof bowl.

What is a substitute for zucchini in ratatouille? ›

Vegetable Variations: This versatile ratatouille recipe works well with different veggies. Substitute zucchini with summer squash or eggplant, and use any bell pepper color if red is unavailable.

What is the final dish in ratatouille called? ›

The final dish in the film Ratatouille isn't ratatouille—it's a tian. Here's how to make it. At the end of the movie Ratatouille, Remy the rat cre... The final dish on the movie is Confit Byaldi, which was the brain child of Thomas Keller, an American chef.

Is ratatouille worth making? ›

But it's worth it for the intensity of flavor and the velvety texture. Ratatouille takes some time to make, and tastes better the next day, so plan ahead. The upside is that it's a perfect make-ahead dish for a party.

How did they come up with the idea for ratatouille? ›

"Ratatouille" had originated in-house with animator Jan Pinkava, who made the Oscar-winning short "Geri's Game." He conceived the idea -- a rat, Remy, who wants to become a chef -- and designed the characters and sets for the film's Parisian locale.

What is the deeper meaning of ratatouille? ›

At its core, “Ratatouille” entertains one foundational question: Should we as a people choose ignorance or empathy? In the film, rats are stigmatized to only be troublemakers, and humans to only be killers. But, Remy the rat makes a different choice.

Is ratatouille a Paris or Italy? ›

Where did it all begin? Pronounced (RAT-a-TOO-ee), it's a French peasant dish believed to have originated in either Nice or Provencal France somewhere around the late 1700's in a form you wouldn't recognize today.

What does it mean when someone says ratatouille? ›

ˌrä-ˌtä-, -ˈtü-ē : a seasoned stew made of eggplant, tomatoes, green peppers, squash, and sometimes meat.

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