Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s which originated in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

, garlic,

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...

courgette The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are sti ...

(zucchini),

aubergine Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...

(eggplant, brinjal),

capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come from Latin , me ...

(bell pepper), and some combination of leafy green herbs 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, spoken in parts 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

es as a foundation for sautéed garlic,

zucchini The zucchini (; plural: zucchini or zucchinis), courgette (; plural: courgettes) or baby marrow (''Cucurbita pepo'') is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are st ...

(eggplant), bell pepper,

marjoram Marjoram (; ''Origanum majorana'') is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marj ...

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

and

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...

. Instead of basil, bay leaf and

thyme Thyme () is the herb (dried aerial parts) of some members of the genus '' Thymus'' of aromatic perennial evergreen herbs in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are relatives of the oregano genus ''Origanum'', with both plants being mostly indigen ...

, or a mix of green herbs like

herbes de Provence (; oc, label= Provençal, èrbas de Provença) is a mixture of dried herbs considered typical of the Provence region of southeastern France. Formerly simply a descriptive term, commercial blends started to be sold under this name in the 1970s. T ...

can be used. The modern version does not appear in print until c.1930.

Preparation

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''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 ' () is an encyclopedia of gastronomy. The majority of the book is about French cuisine, and contains recipes for French dishes and cooking techniques. The first edition included few non-French dishes and ingredients; later editions include many ...

'' 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 Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France's best worker) in cuisine in 1976. ...

) "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 Pisto (also known as pisto manchego) is a Spanish dish originally from the Region of Murcia, Castilla La Mancha and Extremadura. It is made of tomatoes, onions, eggplant or courgettes, green and red peppers, and olive oil. It is usually served ...

'' ( 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'' ( Majorcan), ''

ciambotta ''Ciambotta'' or ''giambotta'' is a summer vegetable stew of southern Italian cuisine. The dish has different regional spellings;Michael ScicoloneMake It Your Way: Ciambotta ''Los Angeles Times'' (June 20, 2001).Anthony F. Buccini, "Western Medit ...

'', '' caponata'' and '' peperonata'' (

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

), ''briám'' and '' tourloú'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

), '' şakşuka'' and '' türlü'' ( Turkish), ''

ajapsandali Ajapsandali ( ka, აჯაფსანდალი, hy, Աջափսանդալ) is a traditional Georgian cuisine, Georgian and Armenian cuisine, Armenian dish, also popular in the Northern Caucasus.''Андрей Бугайский''Бинар ...

'' (

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'' ( 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, tradition ...

) 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 The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

have their own versions of winter vegetable stew.

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

makes '' undhiyu'',

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

avial Avial ( ml, അവിയല്‍, pronounced ) is an Indian dish with origins in the Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Udupi regions of India. It is a thick stew of usually 13 vegetables commonly found in the Western Ghats and coconut, seasoned with c ...

'' (with coconut and curry), and Bengal ''

shukto Shukto ( bn, শুক্তো) is a popular vegetable dish in Bengali cuisine usually served with rice in the West Bengal state of India and in the neighbouring country Bangladesh. It has slightly bitter taste and is especially served in the ...

''. ''

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 t ...

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

In popular culture

In 2007

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

and

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

released the film ''

Ratatouille Ratatouille ( , ), oc, ratatolha , is a French Provençal dish of stewed vegetables which originated in Nice, and is sometimes referred to as ''ratatouille niçoise'' (). Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include ...

''. The film features Remy, a young rat 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 t ...

for the notoriously harsh

food critic The terms food critic, food writer, and restaurant critic can all be used to describe a writer who analyzes food or restaurants and then publishes the results of their findings. While these terms are not strictly synonymous they are often used int ...

Anton Ego, who unexpectedly loves the dish due to childhood nostalgia for his mother's cooking. The movie gave widespread exposure to this meal in American culture and around the world.

References

External links