ratatouille

A bowl of ratatouille with bread

Ratatouille (pronounced /ˌrætəˈtuːiː, ˌrætəˈtwiː/; French: [ʁatatuj]) is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.^[1]

Origin

The word ratatouille comes from Occitan ratatolha and the recipe comes from Occitan cuisine. It is also used in French (touiller, also means to toss food). Ratatouille originated in the area around present day Occitan Provença (French: Provence) & Niça (French: Nice, Occitan: Niça); the Catalan "xamfaina" and the Majorcan "tombet" are versions of the same dish.^[2]

Present use

Ratatouille is usually served as a side dish, but also may be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by rice or bread). Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, courgettes (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), bell peppers (poivron), carrot, marjoram and basil, or bay leaf and thyme, or a mix of green herbs like herbes de Provence. There is much debate on how to make a traditional ratatouille. One method is to simply saute all of the vegetables together. Some cooks, including Julia Child, insist on a layering approach, where the aubergine and the courgettes are sauteed separately, while the tomatoes, onion, garlic and bell peppers are made into a sauce. The ratatouille is then layered in a casserole – aubergine, courgettes, tomato/pepper mixture – then baked in an oven.^[3][4]

When ratatouille is used as a filling for savory crepes or to fill an omelette, the pieces are sometimes cut smaller than in the illustration. Also, unnecessary moisture is reduced by straining the liquid with a colander into a bowl, reducing it in a hot pan, then adding one or two tablespoons of reduced liquid back into the vegetables.

Filled aubergine dishes exist in Turkish, Sicilian, Maltese, Greek, Venetian and Dalmatian/Croatian cuisine, but may include salted sardines or anchovies.^{[5] [6]} There is a similar Spanish dish, pisto manchego.

American chef Thomas Keller popularized a contemporary variation, confit byaldi, for the 2007 animated film Ratatouille.

References

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Ratatouille

Look up ratatouille in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.