“The secret of a good ratatouille is to cook the vegetables separately so each will taste truly of itself.” — Joel Robuchon
I relish these wise words from one of the most renowned chefs in the world. And I humbly endorse them.
I discovered there are two stages to preparing the ultimate Ratatouille: 1) Cooking each vegetable separately (as per Robuchon’s advice), then 2) Transferring them all to an ovenproof dish (I like to use an earthenware one with a lid) and baking the colourful, flavour-laden concoction briefly in the oven.
You can choose from three methods for the first stage – searing each vegetable separately in batches in a skillet (my preferred modus operandi), roasting in the oven or grilling them on the barbecue.
After some experimenting, I found that good-size chunks of each vegetable work better than small ones. I also like to toss each vegetable with oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl before adding to the skillet.
And here’s the key trick gleaned from my sleuthing. When transferring the browned vegetables to an ovenproof dish, add the tomatoes (cooked with the onions) LAST so their juices drip down through the Ratatouille as it bakes.
This is one of my all-time favourite dishes. It’s versatile, makes use of the local, seasonal harvest and can be served to vegans and vegetarians in its basic rendition.
There are many tasty tweaks and twists on the basic theme.
You can crumble goat cheese on top of the finished Ratatouille and quickly slip it under the broiler until browned just before serving. Add tofu chunks and you have a meatless meal.
Ratatouille works as a side dish or main course and can be used as a sauce for pasta. Serve it hot, at room temperature or cold. Chop it up with some black olives and/or capers and you’ve got a topping for bruschetta.
Omit the eggplant and zucchini and – hey presto – there’s another delicious dish: Peperonata.
Ratatouille is even better the next day when the gorgeous flavours have had time to meld and mellow. It is absolutely best made in mid- to late summer and early fall when all the vegetables are at their peak.
Please use this recipe as a guide and feel free to vary it as desired.
My Ratatouille
I vary the veggies according to season and use ripe fresh tomatoes in summer (cherry and grape tomatoes will also work well), canned ones in winter. By “big chunks” I mean about 1½-inch/2 cm in size – don’t go smaller or the veggies will go mushy.
To peel and seed tomatoes (a nice touch), place in large saucepan of boiling water about 10 seconds. Transfer to bowl of cold water, peel off skins and discard. Squeeze out seeds. Chop tomato flesh. You can substitute a 28-oz/796 mL can of tomatoes for fresh. You can substitute herbes de provence instead of dried thyme.
About ⅓ cup olive oil
1 medium eggplant, cut in big chunks
3 medium zucchini, cut in big chunks
1 or 2 sweet red peppers, cut in big pieces
1 or 2 sweet yellow peppers, cut in big pieces
2 medium red onions, peeled, cut in chunks
2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 tbsp dried
6 garlic cloves, peeled
4 or 5 large ripe tomatoes, stem end removed, cut in chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350F.
Toss eggplant chunks with 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil (just enough to coat), salt and pepper in large bowl. Add to large heavy skillet over medium-high heat; cook, turning once or twice, until nicely browned on all sides but not soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to ovenproof dish. Repeat with zucchini and peppers.
Heat remaining oil in skillet. Add onions, thyme and garlic. Cook, stirring, about 4 minutes or until softened and a bit caramelized. Add tomatoes; cook about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add mixture to ovenproof dish. Do not stir.
Cover; bake in oven 20 minutes. Remove lid. Cook about 10 minutes more or until vegetables are tender but not mushy.
Serve warm, at room temperature or cold.
Makes about 6 servings.
Francis Lam’s Weapons-Grade Ratatouille
I interviewed brilliant New York food journalist Francis Lam in Toronto in May 2015 and we challenged each other to a ratatouille face-off. I have to admit his is pretty good. He wrote it in his quirky style: “Makes a boatload, nearly half a gallon, of very intensely flavored stuff.”