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The "right" way to make ratatoulie - BBC
The time-consuming nature of cooking a true ratatouille has paved the way for easier-to-make alternatives. However, some are fighting to protect the integrity and heritage of the dish.
With its summery combination of aubergines, courgettes, peppers and tomatoes, ratatouille is a beloved classic of southern French cuisine, particularly in Nice. But this simple, seasonal stew is more complex than it may seem at first glance.
For one thing, its core ingredients aren’t native to the area. Despite today’s association between tomatoes and the Mediterranean, these New World fruits only arrived in Europe at the beginning of the 16th Century. And moreover, they remained purely ornamental for nearly two centuries.
“A ratatouille is, by its very definition, a combination of vegetables fried and then simmered in a tomato sauce,” said Niçois culinary historian Alex Benvenuto. “And tomatoes weren’t officially [considered edible in Europe] until 1731.” (This is thanks to Scottish botanist Philip Miller, who was the first to categorize them as such in Europe.)
The time-consuming nature of cooking a true ratatouille has paved the way for easier-to-make alternatives. However, some are fighting to protect the integrity and heritage of the dish.
With its summery combination of aubergines, courgettes, peppers and tomatoes, ratatouille is a beloved classic of southern French cuisine, particularly in Nice. But this simple, seasonal stew is more complex than it may seem at first glance.
For one thing, its core ingredients aren’t native to the area. Despite today’s association between tomatoes and the Mediterranean, these New World fruits only arrived in Europe at the beginning of the 16th Century. And moreover, they remained purely ornamental for nearly two centuries.
“A ratatouille is, by its very definition, a combination of vegetables fried and then simmered in a tomato sauce,” said Niçois culinary historian Alex Benvenuto. “And tomatoes weren’t officially [considered edible in Europe] until 1731.” (This is thanks to Scottish botanist Philip Miller, who was the first to categorize them as such in Europe.)