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Ratatouille

[rat-uh-too-ee, -twee; Fr. ra-ta-too-y^uh]

Ratatouille (French pronunciation: ʁatatuj) is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish, originating in Nice. The full name of the dish is ratatouille niçoise.

French cuisine

The word ratatouille comes from Occitan "ratatolha". 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). It was originally a common dish, prepared in the summer with fresh summer vegetables. The original Ratatolha de Niça used only courgettes (zucchini), tomatoes, green and red peppers (bell peppers), onion, and garlic. The dish known today as ratatouille adds aubergine (eggplant) to that mixture.

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, zucchini (courgettes), eggplant (aubergine), bell peppers (poivron), rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme, or spices such as 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. Others, including Julia Child, insist on a layering approach, where the eggplant 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 -- eggplant, courgettes, tomato/pepper mixture -- then baked in an oven.

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.

Comparable dishes in other cuisines

Basically the same plate is known as Pisto manchego in Spain. There is a Maltese version of ratatouille called kapunata, which is very similar to its French counterpart. Kapunata is made with tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, and garlic. Olives and capers are optional but common additions to this recipe, especially when it is served with grilled fish. A similar recipe is called caponata in Italian, while a comparable Occitan dish is called piston.The Hungarian cuisine have a similar dish called lecsó with tomatoes, green and red peppers and onions. Also there are a Bulgarian version of ratatouille named guivech and a Romanian one which is called ghiveci. A similar dish in Southern Slavic cuisine called đuveč, but in most versions it contains green beans and rice. It's often served as a Side dish with grilled meat. The Greeks have a similar dish called briami, which typically includes potatoes. The Armenian version, also served with potatoes, is known as "turlu." Two comparable Turkish dishes, imam bayildi (which translates to: "the imam swooned"), uses small eggplants sliced lengthwise as outer shells for an aromatic vegetable filling and türlü (translated: "vegetable casserole"), uses a mixture of various vegetables. Similar filled eggplant exists in Venetian and Dalmatian/Croatian cuisine, but it includes salted sardines or anchovies. American chef Thomas Keller invented a contemporary variation, confit byaldi, for the 2007 animated film Ratatouille.