The ratatouille dish is a type of summer vegetable stew dish which originated as a French Provencal dish from Nice.
Ratatouille is a classic French dish which is made up of and consists of eggplant, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs that are quickly seared and then gently stewed.
The result is a creamy delicious mixture of fresh vegetables that serves as a wonderful main or side dish.
Think of the vegetables that grow well in your yard, ready to be picked together in late summer and early fall and basically that's ratatouille.
The ratatouille dish is very easy to make and is a stew of zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant, with herbs and spices and some onions and garlic usually thrown in for good measure.
In ratatouille the tomatoes, onions and capsicums add sweetness while the eggplant creates creamy undertones.
The dish ratatouille is a rich and flavorsome stew that is enhanced with the addition of aromatic herbs and spices, like garlic and thyme, which meld with the sauce and sink into the vegetables.
The teeming summer gardens of Mediterranean France are the inspiration for and source of ratatouille, a dish whose name is taken from two related words: ratouiller, meaning to agitate or stir a liquid, and tatouiller, meaning to beat (as in the drumbeat called the tattoo) or to shake.
Ratatouille requires ripe vegetables, a liberal hand with the olive oil, and patience.
And only long, slow cooking will give you the creamy soft vegetables, and intense, almost jammy sauce that sings of the sun.
Anything else is just plain vegetable stew.