The history of the Ratatouille is vague a bit, though it is known that name said to appear as a derivation from the French touiller, to stir, although the root of the first element "rat-" is unknown. The word Ratatouille has also come to be used in non-culinary contexts in English to refer to a (generally colorful) mixture of any kind as the dish itself is really multicolored mixture.
The thing is that tomatoes are a key ingredient of any ratatouille, with onions, zucchini (courgettes), eggplant (aubergine) and bell peppers in addition with all to be sautéed in olive oil. Ratatouille can be prepared fairly quickly by cooking everything together at the same time, but that needs to be done in the correct sequence to not miss out the art and the flavor of the dish. Besides, why not to surprise some familiar gourmets, proving that you are not just a beginning culinary amateur, but a professional of high quality? Not a problem!
The thing is that the Ratatouille recipe can legitimately vary (somewhat) according to tastes, but the variations should be based on experience. In any case, you will need 1.6 kg tomato, 700 g eggplant (2), 500 g zucchini (2), 700 g bell pepper (2-3), 1 kg onion garlic, olive oil and 140 g tomato paste (basilic,thyme, parsley salt and pepper to the taste) to cook a ratatouille. It is usually done with braised leeks, but as the vegetarian variant is easier and tasty. The classical method of cooking ratatouille fills the kitchen surfaces with pots and pans, takes a bit longer, but doesn't really add to the flavor, so use the other one.
The modern method to cook ratatouille is to wash, peel and clean tomatoes and put them into the pot to boil for a couple of minutes. They are followed by chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper and with an interval of few minutes there come eggplants and zucchini. Do not forget to cut eggplants and zucchini into rondelles before cooking. This takes about an hour, from when you first start chopping until everything is in the pot together. Cook slowly for one to two hours, depending on how chunky you want in and how eager you are to try it.
Voilat! Your ratatouille is ready! You see this method to cook Ratatouille is much simpler, and produces the same great results. We do believe that when you serve your Ratatouille to your guests and even local friends it will get only good reviews. The volume is also very variable. "Too much" doesn't apply to Ratatouille, but we still offer that you not be zealous while cooking Ratatouille for the first time. Just eat it hot as the main course, if something is left - why not having it again later as a cold hors-d'oeuvre? In the summer time, ratatouille is great as a cold main-course dish, so do not be afraid to keep it for several days in the refrigerator.
Ratatouille is good served with couscous grain (semolina) or rice. This Nicole dish is much more than just a vegetable soup- it is an unimaginable pleasure!