"Ratatouille" is A step by step recipe

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

How to cook Ratatouille, and what is it? The answers to these culinary and other questions regarding the mentioned dish will be presented in the materials of this article.

General information

Dish "Ratatouille" - what is it? According to experts, the mentioned name is of French origin. It consists of two parts: rata and touiller, which means "food" and "interfere" in translation.

"Ratatouille" is a vegetable dish of Provencal cuisine (traditional), which consists of bell peppers, zucchini and eggplant. Some chefs claim that such a dinner is in many ways similar to the Hungarian lecho.

Origin story

Ratatouille is a dish first mentioned in a 1778 cookbook. Experienced chefs report that this unusual dish was originally cooked by poor peasants in the area of \u200b\u200bmodern Nice. They made it in the summer with fresh vegetables.

Ratatouille is a French dish. His original recipe included tomatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers, and garlic. As for the modern version, eggplants are also used to create it, and sometimes squash.

Features

"Ratatouille" is a Provencal dish that very much resembles a traditional Russian vegetable stew. In part, this is true. However, such a meal is made out a little differently. Vegetables for such a dinner are cut not into cubes, but into circles. At the same time, they are laid out in a form in a spiral.

To give such a dinner a special aroma and taste, French spices, or rather Provence herbs (including fennel, truffles, cumin, rosemary, mint and basil), are added to it. Thanks to such spices, any dish of Provencal cuisine can be transformed beyond recognition.

Analogues

The Ratatouille dish, the recipe of which will be discussed later, is prepared not only in France, but also in other countries. As a rule, such a dish in other states has a different name. For example, in Italian cuisine this kind of vegetable stew is called "Caponata", in Turkish - "Imam Bayaldy", in Spanish - "Pisto", in Hungarian - "Lecho", and in Catalan - "Samfaina".

It should also be noted that even if all the listed dishes are prepared from the same ingredients, they may have noticeable taste differences. This is due to the fact that the varieties of vegetables used, the herbs, spices and spices used, as well as the technology of creating vegetable dishes play a big role in the process of preparing this dinner.

"Ratatouille": recipes (how to cook)

Many housewives are afraid to start making such a dish, because they consider it difficult and costly. But it's not. Consideredthe meal is fairly easy to prepare. What's more, it requires only simple components available to everyone to create.

As mentioned above, in the original version of "Ratatouille" was prepared from tomatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers, garlic and onions. Today, eggplant and squash began to be added to the dish.

It should also be noted that the finished lunch can be served hot and cold, as well as at room temperature. Often it is used as an independent dish. Although sometimes housewives present it as a side dish for meat. Ratatouille also makes a great appetizer when served with crackers or bread.

So how should Ratatouille be done? Step by step cooking recipe includes:

• bell pepper yellow and red - 2 medium pieces;
• vegetable oil (it is better to take olive oil) - 5 large spoons;
• large fresh garlic - 2 cloves;
• large bulbs - 1 pc.;
• tomatoes in their own juice - approximately 300 g;
• thyme (in sprigs) - 3 pcs.;
• fresh parsley - to your liking;
• bay leaf - 1 pc.;
• green fresh zucchini - 1 piece;
• young eggplant not very large - 1 piece;
• Small squash - 1 piece;
• fresh medium tomatoes - 5 pieces;
• s alt, pepper - to your liking.

Vegetable pretreatment

Before you prepare a delicious French dish, you shouldprocess all necessary components.

Eggplant, squash and zucchini are thoroughly washed hot. At the same time, their tails and navels are immediately cut off, and the skin is left. Next, all the vegetables are chopped in the form of thin circles. By the way, to get the most delicious and tender dish, such ingredients are taken only fresh and young.

Bulgarian peppers are also processed separately. Wash it well, cut it in half and remove the seeds. Next, the pepper is chopped into slices. As for fresh tomatoes, they are cut into thin slices. At the same time, the skin must be left.

Preparing food

Form "Ratatouille" preferably in a deep form (heat-resistant), intended for the oven. Its bottom is completely covered with baking paper. Next, lay the slices of bell pepper cut down on the parchment. In this form, the dishes are sent to the oven, heated to 220 degrees. After 20 minutes, the pepper is removed. After that, the hard skin is carefully removed from it and finely chopped.

Pour a few tablespoons of oil into a cast-iron pan and heat it up well. Next, they throw onion into it, cut into small cubes, as well as garlic cloves passed through a press. In this form, the ingredients are fried over low heat for about 8 minutes. Over time, chopped tomatoes in their own juice (that is, canned), their brine, two sprigs of thyme, bay leaf and a tablespoon of chopped parsley are added to them.

Having laid out all the ingredients, they are stewed over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes. After that, finely chopped bell pepper is added to them. After a couple of minutes, the bay leaf and thyme are removed from the almost ready sauce. At the same time, 2 large spoons of the vegetable mass are laid out in a bowl, and the rest is removed from the heat.

Formation process

How to properly form "Ratatouille"? To begin with, you should take a wide heat-resistant form with high sides, in which you need to place all the cooked sauce. Next, you need to lay out all the pre-chopped vegetables in it. At the same time, fresh tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and squash must be placed in a bowl in a circle, overlapping. For beauty and unusual appearance, different colors of vegetables should be alternated.

After all the ingredients are laid out, they are sprinkled with the remaining chopped garlic, a thyme leaf and oil are added. At the very end, the dishes with vegetables are completely covered with culinary foil. This is necessary so that the dish cooks well and does not become covered with a burnt crust.

Cooking in the oven

To bake a French dish, the oven temperature must be lowered to 135 degrees. Placed in a mold with vegetables in a heated cabinet, they are cooked for two hours. After this time, the foil is removed. In this form, Ratatouille is cooked for another 30 minutes.

If too much liquid is formed in the dish with the dish during the heat treatment, it is carefully drained.

Processdinner decorations and proper serving

To decorate this French dish, the previously left vegetable sauce is mixed with s alt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The resulting mixture is beautifully poured onto a plate, or rather along its side parts. As for the center of the dish, Ratatouille is carefully laid on it. At the same time, they make sure that the vegetable layers remain in the form in which they were baked.