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.
Oh..I could not pick just one. The Mexican Chicken Pizza and the Carmelized Onion-Tomato Focaccia both looked divine. Nana used to bake an onion focaccia that was yummy. I miss that.
Thank you for your fun contests! It’s fun learning about new products! I would love to try the Mexican Chicken Pizza with Cornmeal Crust.
Glad you like the contests too, Terri! I love being able to give away great products to my readers! So fun for me too!!!
There were several that look good to me but my wife’s favorite would be Fire Roasted Tomato Soup.
Chick Pea and Tomato Curry. Yum!
While it is naturally GF, I wonder if a GF naan is possible?
Hey Jules! How about a cioppino with the Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes? Healthy and tasty!
I would indeed like to “expand my chili repertoire” and try some of these Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes in either my fave chili recipe or one of those featered on the website! Thanks for making your website even more fun by adding prize-winning contests!
Kari – you’re very welcome! I love being able to give away fun stuff, so I’m glad to hear you all enjoy them too!
I would try the Baked Ziti (using gluten free pasta, of course) with Fire Roasted Tomatoes.
Most definitely the Healthified sausage stuffed shells, beyond a doubt. Now being GF, I eat much healthier. But also being GF, I’d just about kill for stuffed shells at this point. Oh how the mouth is watering…
The Fire Roasted Tomato Basil Crab Bisque looks amazing. What would you use to make it dairy free?
I would try the pizza pasta. My son loves pizza and would probably love it.
I just made Ratatouille last week, it’s one of my favorites recipes to make when tomatoes are so abundant. As far as the Muir Glen site goes, the Chick Pea and Tomato Curry sounds delicious!
My favorite recipe, though they all look wonderful, is
Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Peppers. In fact, I just bought an organic cut-up chicken at the market and was looking for an idea for tonight’s dinner. This is it.
Oh I am hungry right now for the braised chicken with fennel and white beans! Sounds delicious! I love muir glen products!
I would make the salsa chicken sandwich and use Jules’ bread mix to make the buns gluten free!
I’d love to try the Braised Chicken with Fennel and White Beans!
Wow! Can’t wait to try this chickpea and tomato curry recipe on the mur glen site. My whole family loves indain food. Usually end up substuting other things for them though. They are hard to find where I am. Love this ratatouille recipe too! Can’t wait to try this one too, looks zoo yummy. Thanks for posting it.
Sausage-stuffed shells is my choice.
So many great options to choose from. It would either be one of their tomato soups are the tomato and chickpea curry. The salsa guacamole looks good too.
The Cilantro-Lime Salsa looks fantastic! I’ve not used canned tomatoes often, but would have fun trying them out! Thanks for all the info.
Just checked out the sight. Roasted vegetable-tomato sauce sounds good!!!! Would be great way to use my zucchini!!!!