Ratatouille is a French vegetable stew that at first glance seems like a simple, humble dish.
But made well, it punches well above its weight, a summery stunner bursting with Mediterranean flavours!
Ratatouille: French vegetable stew
Im not going to lie to you.
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I was never one to jump up and down with anticipation at the thought of Ratatouille.
It just never sounded, well,exciting.
How terribly wrong Ive been all this time.
You also get some browning on the vegetables, and as we know,colour = flavour!!
What is ratatouille?
The most famous of all Provencal vegetable dishes though would have to be Ratatouille.
Bonus:You get to feel totally virtuous eating so much veg in one sitting!
If you do, use a good brand like (Im partial to Mutti).
Onion and garlic The flavour base.
Youd be hard pressed to find a savoury dish on this website that doesnt start with these two!!
Fresh thyme and basil Thyme is for the braising, and basil for a fresh finish.
Plenty of alternatives exist here so dont fret if you dont have these two exact herbs.
A sprinkle of dried oregano instead would be totally at home, or even mixed herbs for that matter.
Not too many, so they dont dominate.
Theyre backing vocals here to the lead singer veggies!
The salt also tenderises the flesh of the eggplant and makes the eggplant absorb less oil when cooking.
Common wisdom also claims that salt removes the bitter taste in eggplants.
It will just evaporate when we start sauteing.
hasnt collapsed into mush).
No need to fully cook; they will finish cooking during the braising step.
The key part here is getting some golden colour on the eggplant this adds great flavour!
Have a taste and add more salt and pepper if desired.
To finish it off, just stir through the basil and its ready to serve!
Either spoon it into a big shared dish for people to help themselves, or into individual bowls.
Why saute in a skillet then braise in a different pot?Simply for a better result.
A taller pot meanwhile is needed later to hold all the vegetables to stew together.
We want the stewing action later, not while sauteing!
It also happily keeps for days, being meat and dairy-free.
;
A vegetable side dishalongside a protein-based main white meats especially, ie.
Thats closer to the truth but it was no less enjoyable!!
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Afluffy egg white omelettestuffing Ratatouille instead of the asparagus stuffing in the recipe.
(PS.Egg white omelettesdont get cooked around here purposefully.
Theyre just a great way to use up leftoveregg whitesafter making things with theyolks.
Im no cholesterol-watching obsessive!
);
An accompaniment for fish(6 minute dinner!)
Literally the fastest meal ever.
I just pan-fried a piece of fish and piled over the Ratatouille.
Think of it as a salad, side and salsa sauce all in one!
So, there you have it.
These are just a few ideas that shows how Ratatouille can be the gift that keeps on giving.
I cant believe I ever thought it was so bland and boring!
Consider me a convert.
Very, VERY lucky to have a friend who shares freshly caught local lobsters with me.
And before you ask … yes, the recipe is coming!
