Ratatouille
By Middagsarkivet
- Easy
- 4 servings
Ratatouille comes from Provence, where it was built on whatever the late summer garden produced in excess. In Nordic kitchens it has become a standard late August and September dish, the week the greenhouse zucchini gets out of hand and the tomatoes finally ripen. Danish and Swedish cookbooks have carried it since the 1970s, usually filed under "vegetarian" long before that was a selling point.
There are two schools. One cooks each vegetable separately and combines them at the end, so every piece keeps its shape. The other puts everything in one pan and lets it slump together into something closer to a stew. This is the second kind, which is what gets cooked on a Tuesday. The eggplant is browned first, because eggplant simmered raw in tomato turns gray and squeaky.
It tastes better the next day, and it is just as good at room temperature as hot. Leftovers go on rye bread, under a fried egg, or into pasta.
How to make it
- 1
Salt the eggplant
Toss the eggplant cubes with 1 teaspoon salt in a colander and let them sit while you cut the rest of the vegetables. Pat dry before cooking.
- 2
Brown the eggplant
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a wide heavy pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the eggplant in a single layer and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on several sides and no longer spongy. Scrape it out onto a plate.
- 3
Zucchini and pepper
Add 2 more tablespoons olive oil to the pot. Cook the zucchini and bell pepper over medium-high heat until they take on color at the edges but are still firm, then move them to the plate with the eggplant.
- 4
Build the base
Lower the heat to medium, add the last tablespoon of olive oil, and cook the onion until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for another minute, until the paste darkens.
- 5
Simmer
Add the chopped tomato, the crushed tomato, the thyme, and the bay leaf. Season with salt and black pepper and simmer uncovered until the sauce has thickened and no longer tastes raw.
- 6
Bring it together
Return all the vegetables to the pot, stir gently, and simmer uncovered until everything is tender and the liquid has reduced to a glossy sauce. Stir only now and then so the vegetables keep some shape.
- 7
Finish
Fish out the bay leaf and the thyme stems. Stir in the red wine vinegar and the sugar if the tomatoes were sharp, then taste again for salt and pepper. Scatter the torn basil over the top just before serving.
A couple of tips
Give the eggplant room in the pan. Crowded, it steams instead of browning, and browned eggplant is the whole difference between this and tomato soup with vegetables in it.
Cut everything to roughly the same size so nothing turns to mush while something else is still raw.
Make it in the morning or the day before. An hour on the counter does more for the flavor than another ten minutes on the stove.
What you need
- A wide heavy pot or deep skillet
Serving
Serve warm or at room temperature alongside grilled lamb, sausages, or roast chicken, or as a light main with a baguette and a piece of feta or a fried egg on top.
Storing it
Keeps 4 days covered in the refrigerator and tastes better on day two. Serve cold, at room temperature, or reheated gently in a pan. It freezes for up to 3 months, though the zucchini comes out softer.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 310 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 21 g |
| of which saturated | 3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 29 g |
| of which sugars | 17 g |
| Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Salt | 2 g |
Questions and answers
- Can you freeze ratatouille?
- Yes, up to 3 months in an airtight container. The zucchini and eggplant lose structure, so frozen batches are best used as a pasta sauce or a base for soup.
- Do I have to salt the eggplant?
- Not strictly, modern eggplant is rarely bitter, but salting draws out water so the cubes brown instead of steaming. Fifteen minutes is enough.
- Can I make ratatouille ahead?
- It is better made ahead. Cook it a day in advance, refrigerate, and bring it back to room temperature or warm it gently before serving.
- What can I use instead of fresh tomatoes?
- Use a second can of crushed tomato, about 1 cup, and add a splash less liquid. Out of season, canned tomatoes beat pale fresh ones anyway.
- Is ratatouille a main course or a side?
- Both. Four servings as a side next to meat or fish, or two generous mains with bread, cheese, or an egg.
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- $0.234
- 1 min 31 sec
- 5
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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