Ratatouille Recipe – French summer vegetable stew

Ratatouille is a delicious French vegetarian stew, made with fresh summer vegetables. It’s rustic, aromatic, and simple to make. Tastes amazing on its own, with a crunchy baguette with salted butter on the side. There are also many other ways you can serve it. You could serve it with eggs for a tasty breakfast, use it as a filling for crepes (cheesy vegetable crepes), or serve it as a side dish with fish or chicken. Two preparation methods are most common and below you’ll find a recipe for both of them.

We also love this baked ratatouille casserole – one of the most popular recipes on the blog!

What is ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a French stew, made from the most delicious summer vegetables. It comes from the Provence region and originated most likely in Nice. The word ratatouille comes from the old French word ‘to stir’.

Provencal ratatouille is really very simple to make and so tasty. After all, if we make a stew from ripe, delicious vegetables, harvested at the peak of their season, add a lot of good olive oil and aromatic herbs – it must be good.

Ingredients

Traditional ratatouille is made with eggplants/aubergine, zucchini/courgette, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and herbs. The most important are eggplants – Julia Child in her book ‘Mastering the Art of French cooking‘ called this stew an ”eggplant casserole”. I like it most when the vegetables are more or less in equal proportions.

Do I need to peel eggplant for ratatouille?

No, I personally don’t feel the need to peel the eggplants. You can peel the eggplants before cooking if you don’t like their skin. Choose fresh eggplants, that have shining and firm skin. The skin of wrinkled, old eggplants will be tough after cooking, so if you’ve bought such eggplants – you can peel them.

Ingredient substitutions: If you don’t like any of the listed vegetables, you can omit them and replace them with the ones you like. This recipe is very forgiving.

Types of Provencal ratatouille:

1. A simpler and more common (especially in France) traditional ratatouille recipe resembles a stew, vegetables are in smaller chunks and are stewed for a longer period of time. This results in creamy soft vegetables, that have an almost jammy consistency. This version is very simple and quick to prepare.
2. The second variation, preferred by professional chefs and rather outside France, resembles pan-fried vegetables. The preparation takes more time as each vegetable is pan-fried separately, and then all the vegetables are stewed together but for a shorter period of time. The vegetables retain their shape and are slightly crunchy.

I like both versions and believe that each has its own advantages. The stewed version is ideal as a bruschetta topping or as a side dish. Long stewing results in excellent flavor development, and adds complexity and depth. The creamy consistency of the vegetables is lovely, this is what distinguishes this dish from other vegetable stews. The pan-fried version is also very tasty. The vegetables are more fresh-tasting and firm, slightly crunchy, and thanks to the browning part – more flavorful.

Step-by-step instructions (pan-fried version of ratatouille):

STEP 1: Prepare all the vegetables: Cut the eggplant into 2 cm / 3/4-inch thick half-slices. Cut the zucchini into 1.5 cm / ½-inch slices, then cut them in half or in quarters (depending on their size). Cut the bell peppers into 1 cm / ½-inch strips. Dice the onion, chop the garlic very finely. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, peel and cut into 1.5 cm / ½ inch cubes.

STEP 2: Salt and dry the eggplant – season well with salt and set aside for 30 minutes. After this time, pat dry with paper towels. Salting the eggplant can be omitted, but it makes, in my opinion, frying and browning easier.

STEP 3: Pan-fry the vegetables: In a very large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over high heat. Pan-fry the zucchini, eggplants and bell peppers in batches: place the vegetables in a single layer in a pan (they can’t be overcrowded) and cook for approx. 2 minutes on one side and one minute on the other. The vegetables should be browned but not cooked through and tender. Transfer the browned vegetables to a very large pot and repeat until all zucchini, eggplants and bell peppers are browned.

Reduce the heat under the pan, add the onions and spices (if using dried spices), cook for about 6 minutes, until translucent, add the garlic and cook for one more minute.

STEP 4: Stew the vegetables: Add the chopped tomatoes and spices (if using fresh ones), cook, stirring and scraping with a spatula the brown bits at the bottom of the pan, as soon as they combine with the sauce, pour the content of the pan into the pot. Add approx. ¾ cup of water to the vegetables in the pot, lightly season with salt and pepper, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. Vegetables should be tender but still retain their shape. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve and enjoy!

Step-by-step instructions for the stewed version of ratatouille:

• STEP 1: Prepare all the vegetables: Dice the onion, chop the garlic very finely. Cut the eggplants, zucchini and bell peppers into ½-inch / 1.5 cm cubes. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, peel them and cut into ½/inch / 1.5 cm cubes.
• STEP 2: Cook the onions and garlic: In a very large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil, add the onions, cook over medium-low heat for about 6 minutes, until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for a minute. If you’re using dried spices, add them together with the onions. Transfer the onions with garlic to a plate.
• STEP 3: Pan-fry the vegetables: Increase the heat to the highest setting, add the sliced eggplants, zucchini, bell peppers and 2 extra tablespoons of oil (add the eggplant first). Cook for approx. 10 minutes, don’t stir for the first 2-3 minutes, then stir from time to time. The vegetables should lightly brown (at least the first layer).
• STEP 4: Stew the vegetables: Add the tomatoes, onion with garlic, a ¾ cup of water and fresh herbs (if using) to the pot, season lightly with salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, then uncover and simmer for 15-30 minutes more, until reached desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Storing and freezing tips:

Ratatouille can be reheated and taste also very good the next day. You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. This vegetable stew can also be frozen. Freeze it in a tightly-closed container for up to 6 months.

How to serve ratatouille:

• Simply as a vegetarian/vegan main course, served with crusty baguette with salted butter to mop in the juices.
• Ratatouille recipe with meat: serve the stew as a side dish, with pan-fried chicken breast/fish and pasta, for example, egg tagliatelle.
• As a casserole. There’s a well-known animated movie called ‘Ratatouille’, where Remy the Rat chooses something as simple as a vegetable stew to impress a culinary critic. The rat, however, doesn’t cook Ratatouille, as most think, but a similar dish, a casserole called Confit Byaldi.
• You can bake the stew sprinkled with cheese or covered with shortcrust pastry on top.
• You can use it as a filling for crepes – here you’ll find my recipe for these savory crepes: Smoked salmon crepes with herbed cream cheese and honey-mustard sauce.
• As a topping for bruschetta – toast small pieces of sourdough toast or baguette and top with the stew. Great for parties, as it tastes good warm and cold.

The Greek equivalent of Ratatouille is Briami. You can find my Briami recipe here.

What to make with leftover ratatouille:

You can make ratatouille with eggs! It can be eaten for lunch/dinner or for breakfast. This is one of my favorite ways to serve Ratatouille. The eggs are poached (or baked) in the stew until the egg whites are set but the egg yolks still runny. It’s very similar to Middle-Eastern Shakshuka. For this recipe, it is better to make the stewed version of ratatouille (if you only have the pan-fried version, chop the veggies into smaller pieces).

Here’s how to do it:

• Warm up the 3 cups of ratatouille in a large pan, add 2 teaspoons of good-quality balsamic vinegar, stir together.
• Using a tablespoon, make four wells in the vegetables (they should be spaced out), place in each one of them a teaspoon of butter, and then crack an egg into each indentation.
• Cover the pan with a lid (the lid should be well fitted) and simmer for a few minutes until the egg whites are barely set and the egg yolks still runny. If your pan is oven-proof, you can also put it in the oven for a couple of minutes!
• Transfer onto plates, season with salt and pepper to taste, serve with slices of bread and salted butter, and sprinkle with parsley.
• Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!