How to cook Ratatouille, and what is it? The answers to these culinary and other questions regarding the dish mentioned will be presented in the materials of this article.
general information
Ratatouille dish - what is it? According to experts, the name mentioned is of French origin. It consists of two parts: rata and touiller, which in translation means "food" and "interfere."
"Ratatouille" is a vegetable dish of Provencal cuisine (traditional), which consists of bell pepper, zucchini and eggplant. Some culinary experts claim that such a dinner is in many ways similar to the Hungarian lecho.
Origin history
“Ratatouille” is a dish, the mention of which was first discovered in the cookbook of 1778 release. Experienced chefs report that this unusual dish was originally prepared by poor peasants in the area of ​​modern Nice. They made it in the summertime from fresh vegetables.
Ratatouille is a French dish. His original recipe included tomatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers and garlic. As for the modern version, eggplants and sometimes squash are also used to create it.
Features
“Ratatouille” is a Provencal dish that very much resembles traditional Russian vegetable stew. This is partly true. However, such a meal is made out in a slightly different way. Vegetables for such a dinner are cut not in cubes, but in circles. At the same time, they are laid out in a spiral shape.
To give such a dinner a special aroma and taste, French spices, specifically Provencal herbs (including fennel, truffles, caraway seeds, rosemary, mint and basil) are definitely added to it. Thanks to such spices, any dish of Provencal cuisine can be transformed beyond recognition.
Analogs
The dish "Ratatouille", 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 - “Samfayna”.
It should also be noted that even if all of the listed dishes are prepared from the same components, they can have noticeable taste differences. This is due to the fact that varieties of vegetables used, herbs, spices and spices used, as well as the technology for creating vegetable dishes, play an important role in the preparation of this dinner.
"Ratatouille": recipes (how to cook)
Many housewives are afraid to start making such a dish, as they consider it difficult and costly. But this is not so. The food in question is prepared quite easily. Moreover, to create it requires only simple components that are available to everyone.
As mentioned above, in the original version "Ratatouille" was prepared from tomatoes, zucchini, sweet peppers, garlic and onions. Today, eggplant and squash have been added to the dish.
It should be noted that the finished dinner can be served to the table in hot and cold form, as well as at room temperature. Often it is used as an independent dish. Although sometimes the housewives present it as a side dish for meat. Also, "Ratatouille" can serve as an excellent snack, if used with crackers or bread.
So how should you make Ratatouille? A step-by-step culinary recipe involves the use of:
- yellow and red bell peppers - 2 medium pcs.;
- vegetable oil (it is better to take olive) - 5 large spoons;
- fresh large garlic - 2 cloves;
- large onions - 1 pc.;
- tomatoes in their own juice - about 300 g;
- thyme (in branches) - 3 pcs.;
- fresh parsley - to your liking;
- bay leaf - 1 pc.;
- fresh green zucchini - 1 pc.;
- not very large young eggplant - 1 pc.;
- small squash - 1 pc.;
- fresh medium tomatoes - 5 pcs.;
- salt, pepper - to your liking.
Vegetable pretreatment
Before you prepare a delicious French dish, you should process all the 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. Further, all vegetables are chopped in the form of thin circles. By the way, to get the most delicious and delicate dishes, such ingredients are taken only in a fresh and young form.
Bulgarian peppers are also treated separately. They thoroughly wash it, cut it in half and remove the seeds. Next, the pepper is chopped with slices. As for fresh tomatoes, they are cut into thin circles. In this case, the skin must be left.
Product Preparation
It is desirable to form a "Ratatouille" in a deep form (heat-resistant), intended for the oven. Its bottom is completely covered with baking paper. Then, on the parchment, lay slices of bell pepper with slices down. In this form, the dishes are sent to the oven, preheated to 220 degrees. After 20 minutes, the pepper is removed. After that, the hard skin is carefully removed from it and finely chopped.
Pouring a few tablespoons of oil into a cast-iron pan, it is thoroughly heated. Then they throw onions, chopped into small cubes, and also sliced ​​garlic through a press. In this form, the ingredients are fried over low heat for about 8 minutes. Over time, they add chopped tomatoes in their own juice (i.e. canned), their pickle, two branches of thyme, a bay leaf and a tablespoon of chopped parsley.
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, bay leaf and thyme are removed from a practically finished sauce. At the same time, 2 large spoons of vegetable mass are laid in a bowl, and the rest is removed from the heat.
Formation process
How to properly form the "Ratatouille"? To begin with, you should take a wide heat-resistant form with high sides, in which you need to put the whole cooked sauce. Next, it is required to lay out all pre-chopped vegetables. In this case, fresh tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and squash are required to be placed in the dishes 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 leaf of thyme and oil are added. At the very end, dishes with vegetables are completely covered with culinary foil. This is necessary so that the dish is well cooked and at the same time not covered with a burnt crust.
Heat treatment in the oven
To bake a French dish, the oven temperature must be lowered to 135 degrees. Having placed in a form 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.
In the event that too much liquid is formed in the heat treatment process in the dishes with the dish, it is carefully drained.
The process of decorating dinner and its proper presentation to the table
To decorate such a French dish, previously left vegetable sauce is mixed with salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The resulting mixture is beautifully poured on a plate, or rather on its side parts. As for the center of the dish, the Ratatouille is neatly laid on it. At the same time, make sure that the vegetable layers remain in the form in which they were baked.