🍆🍅🥒 French Ratatouille: A Complete Guide🇫🇷✨

Hello everyone who loves to eat and cook~ Today I’d like to introduce a classic country dish from the Provence region of France : Ratatouille ! 👏

This dish's name may have become a global hit thanks to the animated series "Ratatouille." Ratatouille itself is a home-cooked dish made with a variety of fresh vegetables. Traditionally, it uses eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and garlic , all slowly simmered with olive oil and herbs. Its sweet and rich flavor is a hallmark of the Mediterranean diet.

The key points are: simple, affordable, healthy, and colorful . It is very versatile whether used as a side dish or a staple food!

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🛒 Ingredients (Serves 4)

Vegetable protagonist 🌽🥕

• 1 eggplant (sliced ​​or diced)🍆
• Zucchini 1 piece (sliced ​​or diced)
• 1 red bell pepper (cut into pieces)🫑
• 1 yellow bell pepper (cut into pieces)🫑
• 1 onion (shredded or diced)
• 3-4 tomatoes (peeled and diced, or 400g canned tomatoes)
• 3 cloves of garlic (chopped)🧄

Seasoning 🧂🌿

• 4–5 tablespoons olive oil🫒
• Salt to taste
• Black pepper 🌑 to taste
• Herbes de Provence (or Thyme, Rosemary, Basil)
• Optional: 1 tablespoon tomato paste (for richness)

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👩🍳 Detailed cooking process

1. Processing vegetables

• After cutting the eggplant, marinate it with a little salt for 10 minutes to remove some of the moisture and bitterness, then wipe it dry.
• Chop zucchini, bell pepper, and onion into pieces and set aside.
• To peel tomatoes: Blanch in hot water for 30 seconds, peel and dice.

2. Sauté the base until fragrant

• Heat olive oil in a frying pan and sauté onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant. 🧅🧄
• Add bell pepper and sauté for a few minutes.

3. Gradually add vegetables

• Add eggplant and zucchini and sauté until softened.
• Add diced tomatoes (or canned tomatoes) and a little tomato paste to help thicken the sauce.
• Sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and Herbes de Provence.

4. Stew

• Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20–30 minutes.
• Stir several times during the process to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom.
• Cook until the vegetables are soft and the flavors are blended, but they still retain their shape.

5. Complete the dish

• After turning off the heat, sprinkle fresh basil leaves or parsley 🌿 to add a fresh feeling.
• When served on the plate, it is colorful, with red, yellow, green and purple all together, which is really attractive.

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💡 Editor's Tips & Variations

• Upgraded appearance : There is another "Ratatouille" 👉 Cut the eggplant, zucchini and tomato into thin slices, spread them into round or long shapes, then pour tomato sauce on them and bake them. The appearance is so exquisite that it looks like a high-end restaurant.
• Deluxe version : Add Feta 🧀 or Parmesan cheese and sprinkle it before serving to make the salty flavor more prominent.
• Healthy version : No need for additional starch, low in calories and high in fiber, a favorite for vegetarians.
• Hong Kong Fusion : Some people add tofu or mushrooms 🍄 to make the taste more like Chinese stew.
• Soul Pairing : It can be paired with French bread🥖, white rice🍚, pasta🍝, and even barbecue🥩, all of which are super delicious.

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🎉 Summary

French Ratatouille is a simple dish that is full of the soul of the Mediterranean . 🥗
The natural sweetness of vegetables blends perfectly with the vanilla, leaving a refreshing and rich taste. The colors are so colorful that they look like a work of art. No wonder it has become a world-renowned "vegetarian star".

What I love most about this dish is that it's incredibly versatile and effortless : it can be eaten on its own as a main course, it's filling enough when paired with bread or rice, and it can even be a side dish to go with steak or chicken, perfectly complementing everything. 💯