Ratatouille

A summer-vegetable stew

Ratatouille is a late-summer dish of Nice and Provence, when eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers are all at their peak. Made outside that window with greenhouse vegetables, it loses much of what makes it work: the deep summer-vegetable concentration that hours of slow stewing draws out.

Cook each separately, then combine

The most common amateur mistake is throwing all the vegetables into one pot. The traditional Provencal method is to cook each vegetable separately in olive oil first — eggplant browned, zucchini softened, peppers blistered, tomatoes reduced — then combine them and simmer to marry the flavors. This preserves the distinct character of each vegetable instead of producing uniform mush.

The fancy fanned version

The fanned-out concentric circles of thin vegetable slices — popularized internationally by the 2007 Pixar film Ratatouille — is technically called confit byaldi, a refined version invented by Michelin-starred chef Michel Guérard and made famous by Thomas Keller’s recipe for the film. Authentic peasant ratatouille is rough-chopped, never sliced thin and arranged.

Hot, warm, or cold

Ratatouille is unusual among stews: it’s served at any temperature.

• Hot — straight off the stove, with crusty bread.
• Warm — alongside grilled fish, lamb, or eggs.
• Cold — as part of summer mezze; the flavor improves overnight as the ingredients meld.

Many Provencal cooks deliberately make extra to serve cold the next day.

Best served the day after

Like many slow-stewed dishes, ratatouille tastes better after a night’s rest in the refrigerator. The vegetables continue absorbing the olive-oil-and-tomato base, and the herbs settle into the dish.