Traditional Provençal ratatouille: the summer vegetable stew with olive oil, thyme and basil

Ratatouille comes from touiller, to stir, and was for a long time an unflattering name for any stew of leftovers. The dish that bears the name today is from Nice and Provence, from the end of the 19th century, when the vegetables of the Mediterranean summer, eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper and tomato, began to be cooked together in olive oil with the herbs of the countryside.

The eternal debate is whether the vegetables all go into the same pot or whether each is sautéed separately. Traditional Niçoise cooking defends the second path: each vegetable browned in its own time, and only at the end does everything come together to cook slowly. It is more work, but each piece keeps its texture instead of turning to mush.

It is a dish that is better the next day, serves cold in the heat and hot in the cold, goes with fish, lamb and eggs, and on its own, with bread, is a whole lunch. It is worth making in quantity.

Recipe card

• Origin: Nice and Provence, France
• Category: Vegetarian main course or side dish
• Difficulty: Easy
• Preparation time: 30 minutes
• Cooking time: 1 hour
• Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants in 2 cm cubes
• 3 zucchini in 2 cm cubes
• 2 bell peppers (1 red and 1 yellow) in strips
• 2 onions, sliced
• 6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded, chopped (or 1 can of peeled tomatoes)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon sugar (if the tomatoes are acidic)
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt, leave in a colander for 20 minutes, rinse and dry well.
2. In a wide skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil and brown the eggplant over high heat until soft and golden. Transfer to a bowl.
3. In the same skillet, with 2 more tablespoons of olive oil, brown the zucchini for 5 minutes and add to the eggplant.
4. Sauté the bell peppers for 5 minutes and set aside with the others.
5. In a large pot, heat the remaining olive oil and cook the onion over low heat for 10 minutes, until soft without browning.
6. Add the garlic, tomato, thyme, bay leaf, sugar, salt and pepper and cook for 15 minutes, until the tomato becomes a thick sauce.
7. Add all the reserved vegetables, mix gently and cook over low heat, half covered, for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring only a few times.
8. Remove the bay leaf and thyme, adjust the salt, add the torn basil and drizzle with olive oil before serving.

Tips and variations

• Vegetables cut too large turn to mush; too small, they disappear: 2 cm is the measure.
• The oven version, in thin slices arranged in a spiral over the sauce, is the one from the film, beautiful and just as good.
• Serve at room temperature with rustic bread and goat cheese as a summer lunch.
• A poached or fried egg on top turns it into dinner.
• Keeps 5 days in the fridge and freezes well.
• Black olives and capers at the end bring it closer to the Niçoise style.
• Do not substitute the olive oil: it is an ingredient, not just cooking fat.

Ratatouille is the Provençal summer in a pot: sun, olive oil and ripe vegetables, without haste. Make it calmly, and make plenty.