Ratatouille
Ratatouille is the essence of Provençal summer cooking, born in the market kitchens of Nice and the Var, where farmers had an abundance of aubergines, courgettes, peppers, and tomatoes all ripening at once in the August heat. The defining technique is patience: each vegetable is sautéed separately until just golden before being combined, which preserves individual textures and prevents the whole becoming a uniform mush. Made a day ahead and allowed to cool completely, ratatouille is remarkably better — the olive oil re-absorbs, the herbes de Provence deepen, and the separate flavours marry into something far greater than their sum.
Provençal summer
Born in the market kitchens of Nice and the Var
Sauté separately
Each vegetable in turn — they cook at different rates and each needs its own caramelisation
Better next day
Olive oil re-absorbs, herbes de Provence deepen overnight
Olive oil carries it
Don't shortchange — it becomes the sauce that carries the herbs and vegetable sweetness
Ingredients 4 servings
- 1 medium aubergine (about 300g), cut into 2cm cubes
- 2 medium courgettes (about 400g), cut into 2cm rounds
- 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, deseeded and diced
- 4 ripe plum tomatoes (about 400g), roughly chopped
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp dried herbes de Provence
- Salt and black pepper to taste
How to make it
- 1Lightly salt the aubergine cubes and set aside for 15 minutes to draw out bitterness, then pat dry.
- 2Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat.
- 3Saute the aubergine until lightly golden, about 5 minutes; remove and set aside.
- 4Saute the courgettes 3 minutes, then the peppers 4 minutes; remove each in turn.
- 5In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and sweat the onion until soft and translucent, 5 minutes.
- 6Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- 7Add the tomatoes and herbes de Provence; cook 10 minutes until the tomatoes collapse into a sauce.
- 8Return all vegetables, stir gently, season with salt and pepper, and simmer uncovered 15–20 minutes until everything is tender and fragrant.
- 9Serve warm or at room temperature — ratatouille tastes even better the next day.
Nutritional info
per serving (~350 g)
Estimated nutritional values.
Pairs perfectly with
