Easy Ratatouille Recipe

I was cooking ratatouille long before I moved to France and realized it had an official name - I called it vegetarian spaghetti sauce. I would put a large skillet on the burner, pour in olive oil, and start chopping whatever vegetables I had found at their peak in the grocery store. I'd add each vegetable as I finished cutting it up and I soon learned the best order to do my chopping in.

Fancy French Ratatouille Recipe

My Larousse de la Cuisine gives a recipe for ratatouille that involves peeling tomatoes and cooking each vegetable separately before assembling them in another pan. I've never done it this way and most French people wouldn't bother either. It's supposed to be an easy dish.

Humble Origins

Ratatouille originated in the south of France, and some say in the city of Nice itself. It features the vegetables you'd be likely to find in a potager in the middle of summer: eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, and tomatoes as well as the fresh herbs you'd find growing alongside. I imagine someone in the south of France walking out their kitchen door and into their vegetable garden on a hot summer afternoon. There they find all the fresh ingredients they need for their evening ratatouille.

Serve It

Ratatouille is wonderfully versatile. Do you remember how the rat fancied it up in the movie of the same name? You can serve it:

• Warm or cold.
• On pasta, an omelet, polenta, fish, or crepes.
• You might like to try it cold on a vegetable terrine.
• I'm sure you can think of some other possibilities.

Personalize It

Here's a ratatouille recipe that you should not hesitate to change as it suits your tastes and what you have available for vegetables and herbs. You can chop as you go to save time on the preparation, but do respect the order I've given here for adding the vegetables for best results.

Secret: I even add hot pepper sometimes, but than it's definitely not too French.

Ratatouille

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 onions, slivered
• 3 bell peppers, cut into one inch squares(try different colors)
• 2 eggplants, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 2 pounds tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

While the onions cook, chop the bell peppers and add them to the pot, stirring well.

Chop the eggplants and add to the pot, stirring well to coat the eggplant with oil. At this point all the olive oil will have soaked into the eggplant, so you need to stir often to keep things from burning until they soften some.

Chop the zucchini and stir it in once the eggplant has softened a bit.

Chop the garlic and add to the vegetables, stirring well.

Chop the tomatoes and add them.

Mince the thyme and add it along with salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and cook two minutes.

Turn down heat and cover the pot. Simmer until everything is soft and well blended - about 40 minutes.

Stir in basil and remove from heat.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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