Ratatouille niçoise, the original recipe

Ratatouille niçoise is nothing other than the original recipe for the side dish of pan-stewed vegetables typical of southern France.

Ratatouille is a typical dish from Provence , in the south of France, particularly the Nice area. That's why its full name would be ratatouille niçoise, meaning Nicoise. In this recipe the vegetables are cut into chunks and stewed in a pan to obtain a rich and tasty side dish, perfect for accompanying meat or fish dishes but also excellent on its own, with slices of toasted bread.

Although the most common version is the one in which the vegetables are cut into regular slices, neatly arranged in a circle and then cooked in the oven, the original ratatouille is cooked in a pan . To understand why, it is sufficient to investigate the origins of the dish: it was born in peasant kitchens and for a long time was the ration of soldiers and prisoners. The village oven, reserved for bread, was certainly not used to prepare it!

How to prepare ratatouille with the original recipe

1. Wash and clean the vegetables and store them, once cut, in different containers. Cut the aubergines and courgettes into small cubes. Divide the peppers in half, remove the stem, seeds and internal white ribs and cut into small cubes. Also cut the tomatoes into cubes. The ideal size of vegetables is around 2 cm .
2. Finely slice the onion and mince the garlic . Also wash the aromatic herbs well and make a fine blend. Alternatively you can use ready-made herbes de Provence mixes.
3. In a saucepan, heat two generous turns of oil and brown the onion and garlic.
4. Then add the vegetables in the following order (they have different cooking times and this is the secret to a perfect ratatouille): first the peppers, after 5 minutes the aubergines and after another 5 minutes the courgettes and tomatoes. Also add half of the aromatic mixture and cook all the vegetables together for 20 minutes, adding salt to taste.
5. Once ready, flavor with the remaining mince and freshly ground pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature : it will still be excellent.

Pan-fried ratatouille can be served as a side dish , together with slices of toasted bread , boiled potatoes or white rice. Here is a video that illustrates all the steps.

Conservation

The ratatouille will keep in the refrigerator, closed in an airtight container, for 2-3 days . You can enjoy it at room temperature or reheat it in a pan for a few minutes. It can also be frozen , already portioned, for up to 6 months. In this case, pass it directly into the pan, without defrosting it first.

Origin and history

The term ratatuille derives from both the French tueller and the Occitan ratatolha both meaning to mix . The vegetables were originally stewed in large pots , stirring constantly, creating a sort of soup.

To contextualize the birth of the dish, in fact, it is necessary to move to the countryside where farmers exploited what they had available. In this specific case they were vegetables even though the original dish was most likely different: tomatoes and aubergines were long considered toxic. The first written trace dates back to 1831 where it was indicated as rations for soldiers and prisoners. Subsequently, in 1848 it was included in the French Provençal dictionary .

Similar recipes were already present in the Basque Country and Catalonia and still remain in the cultures of many countries today. This is the case of the very Italian ratatuia , caponata and ciambotta , the Greek briami and the Manchego and Andalusian pisto typical of Spain.

Read also

How to make a delicious baked ratatouille