Julia Child’s Ratatouille

Julia Child

Eggplant casserole with tomatoes, onions, peppers and zucchini. Ratatouille perfumes the kitchen with the essence of Provence and is certainly one of the great Mediterranean dishes. As it is strongly flavored it is best when it accompanies plain roast or broiled beef or lamb, pot-au-feu (boiled beef), or plain roast, broiled, or sautéed chicken. Equally good hot or cold, it also makes a fine accompaniment to cold meats, or may be served as a cold hors-d’oeuvre.

Print Recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 15

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine French

Servings 8 People

Ingredients

500 g eggplant
500 g zucchini
500 g tomatoes firm, ripe, red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and juiced (about 1/ 1/2 cups pulp)
4 tbsp olive oil
250 g onions about 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced
2 green bell peppers sliced
2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
2 clove garlic mashed
3 tbsp minced parsley
salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Instructions

Peel the eggplant and cut into lengthwise slices 1 cm thick, about 10 cm long, and 3 cm wide.
500 g eggplant
Scrub the zucchini, slice off the two ends, and cut the zucchini into slices about the same size as the eggplant slices.
500 g zucchini
Place the vegetables in a bowl and toss with the salt. Let stand for 30 minutes. Drain. Dry each slice in a towel.
salt
One layer at a time, sauté the eggplant, and then the zucchini in the hot olive oil for about a minute on each side to brown very lightly. Remove to a side dish.
4 tbsp olive oil
In the same skillet, cook the onions and peppers slowly in olive oil for about 10 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and season to taste.
250 g onions, 2 green bell peppers, 2 clove garlic
Slice the tomato pulp into 1 cm strips. Lay them over the onions and peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the skillet and cook over low heat for 5 minutes, or until tomatoes have begun to render their juice. Uncover, baste the tomatoes with the juices, raise heat and boil for several minutes, until juice has almost entirely evaporated.
500 g tomatoes, salt, black pepper
Place a third of the tomato mixture in the bottom of a casserole and sprinkle over it 1 tablespoon of parsley. Arrange half of the eggplant and zucchini on top, then half the remaining tomatoes and parsley. Put in the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and finish with the remaining tomatoes and parsley.
3 tbsp minced parsley
Cover the casserole and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, tip casserole and baste with the rendered juices. Correct seasoning, if necessary. Raise heat slightly and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes more, basting several times, until juices have evaporated leaving a spoonful or two of flavored olive oil. Be careful of your heat; do not let the vegetables scorch in the bottom of the casserole.
Set aside uncovered. Reheat slowly at serving time, or serve cold.

Notes

My dear friend Sarah gave me Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child and Simone Beck for my 25th birthday. This became the second of my kitchen “bibles”. The first was the Edmonds Cookbook. Julia’s book fostered my love of French cuisine and ignited of my passion for cooking. Julia’s ratatouille was a recipe I took to heart. Over the years I’ve adapted it to suit my tastes and lifestyle; the vegetables are all cooked in the casserole once the onions have melted; I go large with cumin, coriander, fennel, paprika and herbal zaatar and ras al hanouf to give it a middle eastern influence.

Keyword foundation, gluten free, ratatouille, vegetarian

Julia Child’s Ratatouille