Regardless of what you may have heard from your kids, Ratatouille is not the conveniently-named food star of a Disney cartoon movie. The dish known as Ratatouille is actually an ancient Mediterranean stew traditionally known as “Peasant’s Food,” since it is essentially comprised of any veggie leftovers you can find, thrown into a pot and cooked down together. Farmer’s food: fresh local vegetables, stewed in regional herbs, it can change with particular influences of the chef preparing it, and can vary every time you make it as well.
Ratatouille was most likely born in the French Provençal region around Nice on the Mediterranean (“touiller,” after all, does mean to “toss or stir” in French!). That’s probably one reason it’s so often served with a crusty baguette … yum.
Since its origin, it has enjoyed a rebirth in fancy restaurants all over the world, but is just as easily prepared in your kitchen with whatever veggies you have on hand (oh yeah, and a gluten-free baguette!).
Another neat thing about this dish is that it can be made using an oven and stovetop method, or entirely over a grill. This fact comes in handy when you’re without power (thanks a lot, Hurricane Irene), trust me! And leftover Ratatouille itself can be used over rice or quinoa, as filling for ravioli or over grilled fish or chicken. It’s an amazingly yummy, healthy and versatile recipe that you’ll want to keep around whether you have lots of mouths to feed, a fridge full of leftovers, an overactive imagination while hitting the Farmer’s Market, or an extended power outage (or all of the above, as the case may be!).
During our recent many days without power, I put this recipe to good use. I had lots of great eggplant, squash and okra from the Farmer’s Market just taking up space in my warming refrigerator, and although the squirrels ate all my home-grown tomatoes, I had several cans of Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes and a hand-crank can opener, so I was set!
I especially enjoyed the flavor from the Muir Glen Fire Roasted Petite Diced Tomatoes with Chipotle Peppers and the Meridian Ruby Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. They really made a huge difference in the flavor of this dish, and I would highly recommend that you try them in your own tomato concoctions!
Ratatouille
Ratatouille is an amazingly yummy, healthy and versatile dish that you’ll want to keep around when you have lots of guests, or a fridge full of leftovers!
Ingredients
Note: use whatever vegetables you have on hand and prefer – there is no “right” or “wrong” way to make Ratatouille
- 3 bell peppers (orange, yellow &/or red) seeded & cut into quarters
- 1 large eggplant, cut into 3/4-inch slices (approximately 1 1/2 lbs)
- 1 medium yellow squash, cut lengthwise into thirds
- 3 medium zucchini squash, cut lengthwise into thirds
- 2 cups chopped okra
- 1 cup vegetable broth (I used Savory Choice™ Liquid Broth Concentrate)
- 5 large tomatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds), seeded and chopped OR 3 cans (14.5 oz each – Muir Glen Organic)
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 ear corn, cooked and cut off the cob
- 3 Tbs. chopped fresh basil (or 1 Tbs. dried)
- 2 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano (or 1 Tbs. dried)
- 2 Tbs. chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or to taste
- Olive oil for brushing on veggies and sautéing
Instructions
With Power (Oven) Method:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining with aluminum foil, then lightly oil the foil. Place cut peppers, eggplant, squash and okra on prepared sheets. Roast vegetables for 40 minutes, flipping them after 20 minutes and switching trays from the top of the oven to the bottom. Watch to be sure they do not burn; each side should be lightly browned and fork tender when roasted.
Once the vegetables are cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2 – 1 inch pieces. Boil the corn on the stove or in the microwave and set aside to cool, then cut off the cob.
Barely cover the bottom of a large pot with oil and heat to medium-high. Add the diced onion and cook until translucent. Reduce to medium heat then add tomatoes and corn (if using fresh tomatoes, cook at medium heat for approximately 15 minutes, or until tender). Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
Add roasted vegetables and herbs; simmer for 5-10 minutes (the fresh herbs should be wilted at this point). Stir in vinegar and serve warm. If you prefer thicker ratatouille, cook longer, uncovered, to allow the stew to reduce.
Without Power (Grilled) Method:
Brush cut peppers, eggplant, squash, cleaned corn and okra with oil. Place okra and any small pieces of peppers onto a lightly oiled piece of aluminum foil over medium grill flame; lay remaining vegetables directly onto the grill grate. Turn the vegetables when lightly browned and fork tender (vegetables touching the grill grate directly will have char marks). Remove to a plate when cooked; when cool enough to handle, cut all grilled veggies into 1/2 – 1 inch pieces and remove corn from the cob.
Place a large flat-bottomed pot onto the hot grill over medium flame. Barely cover the bottom with oil and add the diced onion. Cook while stirring until the onion is translucent. Add tomatoes (if using fresh tomatoes, cook over medium flame for approximately 10 minutes, or until tender). Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
Add grilled vegetables and herbs; simmer for 5-10 minutes (the fresh herbs should be wilted at this point). Stir in vinegar and serve warm. If you prefer thicker ratatouille, cook longer over low flame and uncovered, to allow the stew to reduce.
I’ve searched the site & can’t seem to find a recipe that calls for a dark roux–all the ones I’ve seen are for French rouxs made with butter, which of course are light roux. Do you think your GF flour blend would work well for a dark roux, such as those made when cooking a gumbo? Thanks! I’m so excited to be getting my first order & am crossing my fingers that the “dark roux” answer is “yes”!
Hi Maggie – the answer is yes, with a caveat. My best friends are actually from Louisiana, so they use my flour to make roux for their homemade, authentic gumbos whenever I’m coming over! It works beautifully and tastes wonderful, but (here’s the caveat) it never gets really really brown. If you let it cook waiting for it to become very dark in color, it might burn. So, with that note of caution, look for it to be a lighter color than you’re used to, but to have the thickening power and flavor you seek for your best gumbos! Let me know how it goes when you get your first order!
I would make the guacamole or the cilantro tomato dip, I am a sucker for dips!
Midnight which time zone?!?! Love Muir Glen, always use their pasta/pizza sauce for my GF pizza!
I would like to try chick pea and tomato curry. Yummm!
Not waiting to win, started with the chicken quesadillas tonight, moving on to black bean and chorizo chili tomorrow night and then the baked ziti with fire roasted tomatoes. YUM!
Wow Wendy! I’m coming over to your house for dinner!!!
Wendy – congrats! You are one of the winners! You should get an email from [email protected] asking for your shipping address. Enjoy the tomatoes!
The Beef Short Ribs! My husband and I and our friends are always on the hunt for the best short ribs. We have found a few good ones at restaurants but if I could perfect them at home, oh now that would be heaven! Not to mention some bragging rights, ha!
Actually, I think I’m not going to even wait to see if I win! I have everything I need, except the ginger root and cilantro, to make the Chick Pea and Tomato Curry! I even have rice made already! We’re trying to do more meatless nights, especially when my husband is working. This looks GOOD AND it’s already gluten free!
The Angel Hair with Tomato and Basil looks and sounds darn good. I love pasta!
It would be the Smoky Mac ‘n Cheese. Sounds great.
Caramelized Onion-Tomato Focaccia! If that was made gluten-free, that would be incredible.
The Mexican Chicken Pizza with Cornmeal Crust sounds delicious — with a little more wholesome whole grain from the corn, low fat chicken, and some extra flavor from the Southwestern spices. Sounds like an adaptation of your pizza crust would be a good possibility … and I’d love to have you try it out first!
I would choose the bruschetta. I planted basil this year and would love to enjoy the fresh picked herb. It is a simple and flavorful treat.
The Vegetarian Chili sounds yummy! I’ll probably make next week!
I think the Black Bean and Chorizo Chili sounds super yummy!