Ratatouille ( , ; ) is a French cuisine Provence dish of that was popularised in Nice and is sometimes referred to as ratatouille niçoise ().["Ratatouille". Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989)] Recipes and cooking times differ widely, but common ingredients include tomato, garlic, onion, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), bell pepper, and some combination of leafy green common to the region, such as marjoram, fennel, and basil, or dried bay leaves, thyme, or mixed herbes de Provence.
Etymology
The word
ratatouille derives from the
Occitan language ratatolha[ « ratatouio », Lou tresor dou Felibrige, Frédéric Mistral] and is related to the French
ratouiller and
tatouiller, expressive forms of the verb
touiller, meaning "to stir up".
From the late 18th century, in French, it merely indicated a coarse stew.
History
Modern ratatouille uses
as a foundation for sautéed
garlic,
onion,
courgette (zucchini),
aubergine (eggplant),
bell pepper,
marjoram,
fennel and
basil. Instead of basil,
bay leaf and
thyme, or a mix of green herbs like
herbes de Provence can be used. The modern version does not appear in print until c. 1930.
[Scotto, E., and Marianne Comolli. "Vegetables: A Garden of Eden." France, the Beautiful Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the Regions of France. San Francisco: Collins, 1989. 195. Print."]
Preparation
The Guardians food and drink writer
Felicity Cloake wrote in 2016 that, considering ratatouille's relatively recent origins, there exists a great variety of methods of preparation for it.
The
Larousse Gastronomique says, "according to the purists, the different vegetables should be cooked separately, then combined and cooked slowly together until they attain a smooth, creamy consistency."
Gallery
Related dishes
Similar dishes exist in many cuisines. These include:
piperade (
Gascony), bohémienne (
Vaucluse), chichoumeille (
Languedoc), tian (
Provence),
Confit byaldi (created by Michel Guérard),
pisto (Castilian-Manchego, Spain),
samfaina (
Catalan cuisine),
tombet (
),
ciambotta,
caponata and
peperonata (
Italian cuisine),
and
tourloú (
Greek cuisine),
şakşuka and
türlü (
Turkish cuisine),
ajapsandali (
Georgian cuisine),
lecsó (Hungarian),
pinakbet (
Filipino cuisine),
Ghivetch (
Romanian cuisine) and
zaalouk (
Moroccan cuisine). Different parts of the Indian subcontinent have their own versions of winter vegetable stew.
Gujarati cuisine makes
undhiyu, Kerala
avial (with coconut and local spices), and Bengal
shukto.
In popular culture
In 2007, Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios released the film
Ratatouille. The movie gave widespread exposure to this dish around the world.
See also
External links
