Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

dish of

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

ed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato,

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, onion, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant, brinjal), capsicum (bell pepper), and some combination of leafy green

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

common to the region.

Etymology

The word ''ratatouille'' derives from the

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

''ratatolha'' and is related to the French ''ratouiller'' and ''tatouiller'', expressive forms of the verb ''touiller'', meaning "to stir up". From the late 18th century, in French, it merely indicated a coarse stew. Modern ratatouille uses tomatoes as a foundation for sautéed

, onion, zucchini, aubergine (eggplant),

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

, marjoram, fennel and basil. Instead of basil,

bay leaf The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. It may come from several species of tr ...

and thyme, or a mix of green herbs like herbes de Provence can be used. The modern version does not appear in print until c.1930.

Preparation

'' The Guardian''s food and drink writer,

Felicity Cloake Felicity Cloake is an English food writer. She writes for ''The Guardian'' newspaper and in ''New Statesman'' magazine. Early life Felicity Cloake grew up in Hertfordshire; her father was a John Lewis executive and her mother taught French. She ...

, wrote in 2016 that considering ratatouille's relatively recent origins (it first appeared in 1877), there exists a great variety of methods of preparation for it. The '' Larousse Gastronomique'' claims "according to the purists, the different vegetables should be cooked separately, then combined and cooked slowly together until they attain a smooth, creamy consistency", so that (according to the chair of the Larousse's committee Joël Robuchon) "each egetablewill taste truly of itself." File:Ratatouille.jpg, ''Ratatouille niçoise'' File:20170329 ratatouille-debut-cuisson.jpg, Raw ingredients File:20170329 ratatouille-fin-cuisson.jpg, Heavily simmered and garnished with fresh parsley

Related dishes

Similar dishes exist in many cuisines. These include: '' pisto'' ( Castilian-Manchego, Spain), ''

samfaina Samfaina is a Catalan - Valencian dish based on diced eggplant and zucchini, a sofrito of chopped garlic and onion and grated tomato, cooked in olive oil. Other ingredients like red and green peppers can be added, as well as herbs like thyme an ...

'' ( Catalan, Spain), ''

tombet Tombet or tumbet is a traditional vegetable dish from Majorca, consisting of layers of sliced potatoes, aubergines and red bell peppers previously fried in olive oil. It is available at almost every local restaurant on the island. Tombet is of ...

'' (

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

n), '' ciambotta'', ''

caponata Caponata ( Sicilian: ''capunata'') is a Sicilian dish consisting of chopped fried aubergine (U.S. eggplant) and other vegetables, seasoned with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers, in an agrodolce sauce. Numerous local variant ...

'' and ''

peperonata Peperonata is an Italian vegetable stew typically composed of red bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic. It may be used as a sauce for pasta or served as a side dish to meat and fish dishes. It may be also included as part of a ragù. See also * ...

'' ( Italy), ''briám'' and '' tourloú'' ( Greek), '' şakşuka'' and ''

türlü Türlü is a casserole of Turkish cuisine. It is made of stewed vegetables and may also include stewed meat. Varieties of this dish are also found in Balkan cuisines. In particular, it is known as turli perimesh in Albania, tourlou or tourlou tour ...

'' (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

), '' ajapsandali'' (

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

), ''

lecsó Lecsó ( en, Lecho, ; hu, lecsó ; Czech and Slovak: ''lečo''; german: Letscho; pl, leczo; Russian and ua, лечо) is a Hungarian thick vegetable ragout or stew which traditionally contains yellow pointed peppers, tomato, onion, salt, a ...

'' ( Hungarian), '' ghiveci'' (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

) and ''

zaalouk Zaalouk or Zalouk ( Berber: ⵣⴰⵄⵍⵓⴽ ary, زعلوك, zaʿlūk) is a Moroccan salad of cooked eggplants and tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. Th ...

'' ( Moroccan). Different parts of the Indian subcontinent have their own versions of winter vegetable stew. Gujarat makes ''

undhiyu Undhiyu is a Gujarati mixed vegetable dish that is a regional specialty of Surat, Gujarat, India. The name of this dish comes from the Gujarati word "undhu", which translates to upside down, since the dish is traditionally cooked upside down un ...

'', Kerala '' avial'' (with coconut and curry), and Bengal '' shukto''. ''

Confit byaldi Confit byaldi is a variation on the traditional French dish ratatouille by French chef Michel Guérard. History The name is a play on the Turkish dish "İmam bayıldı", which is a stuffed eggplant. The original ratatouille recipe had the ...

'' can be considered as a variation of the dish.

In popular culture

In 2007 Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios released the film '' Ratatouille''. The film features Remy, a young

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

with an exceptional sense of taste and smell who dreams of becoming a chef. The climax of the film sees Remy prepare the titular dish in the form of

confit byaldi Confit byaldi is a variation on the traditional French dish ratatouille by French chef Michel Guérard. History The name is a play on the Turkish dish "İmam bayıldı", which is a stuffed eggplant. The original ratatouille recipe had the ...

for the notoriously harsh food critic Anton Ego, who unexpectedly loves the dish due to childhood

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...

for his mother's cooking. The movie gave widespread exposure to this meal in American culture and around the world.

References

External links

Recipe (in French) from ''Larousse Cuisine''
{{Eggplant dishes Cuisine of Provence Eggplant dishes French cuisine French stews Occitan cuisine Vegetable dishes