Traditional Rustic Ratatouille
Ratatouille is a dish that originated from in Nice, French Provençal. No, not the Pixar movie version, the traditional French version - a rustic vegetable dish made with a delicious combination of onions, eggplant (aubergine), zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers, stewed togetger with garlic and olive oil.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 Spanish / yellow onion - diced
1 green bell pepper - roughly sliced or diced
1 red bell pepper - roughly sliced or diced
1 eggplant (aubergine) - chopped / diced
1 zucchini (courgette) - chopped / diced
1 yellow squash - chopped / diced
2-3 tomatoes (depending on size) - chopped / diced (alternately one can of diced tomatoes)
2 tablespoons tomato paste / puree
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 teaspoon herbes de provence (traditional French herb blend from the Provence region (typically a blend of marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and other herbs).
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Melt the butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Once butter is melted, turn down heat to low and add minced garlic, saute gently and then add onions. Saute garlic and onions until soft and translucent (approx. 3-4 minutes).
Add green and red bell peppers and continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add the zucchini (courgette) and the yellow squash and saute for another 3-4 minutes. Stirring regularly. Add the eggplant (aubergine) and saute for another 5 minutes.
Finally, add the tomatoes, tomato paste/puree, salt, pepper, herbes de provence and paprika. Cook for another 5 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly, stirring continuously.
Take off the heat, taste, and add additional seasoning if necessary. Serve as a side or as a vegetarian main dish with rice.
Additional Tips :
- This dish is great made ahead of time for example, the day before, and reheated. This also gives time for the flavors to mingle
- To add a bit of a bite, you can add chili powder or red pepper flakes for some spice.
- This dish is also very convenient and a great freezable side for future uses.
middleeastcoastchef