Homemade Ratatouille is a hearty, fresh vegetable stew, meant to nourish your body and warm your soul.
Just about every time I’m with my Aunt Jill, the conversation drifts toward the topic of raising growing boys, and how hard it is to keep them well fed. She raised two boys of her own–now two strapping men of 6’3″ and 6’6,” respectively. She is well versed with the fact that growing boys are never, ever full for very long.
Boys stomachs are the size of Texas, and their legs must be hollow to boot!
Aunt Jill is a tremendous cook, but she doesn’t necessarily like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. She is the quintessential Work Smarter Not Harder kind of cook. Her recipes focus on healthy ingredients, simple preparation, and are satisfying enough to keep two teenage boys and her food-loving husband full for awhile so that she might have a chance to put her feet up for a minute or two.
We’re totally kindred spirits.
One of her recipes that she oft recommends is her version of homemade ratatouille, which she would make in bulk and refrigerate in single servings so that her boys would have something to heat up for an after school snack.
Ratatouille is a fancy French name for a type of vegetable stew, although my aunt would tell you that its more like a really chunky tomato sauce. While a more traditional ratatouille calls for eggplant as the primary vegetable, Jill’s homemade ratatouille recipe revolves around fresh end-of-summer vegetables like squash and tomatoes.
Which is a good thing because eggplant and I are decidedly not friends.
Jill also adds a little turkey bacon to her homemade ratatouille for flavor, but I’m quite sure that if I so much as brought turkey bacon near the threshold of my house, Bacon Slayer and the Sons would be certain to mutiny. My men are steadfast in their devotion to proper pork products.
Comfortably Domestic Confession: I can’t ever hear the name ratatouille without thinking of a scene from the movie of the same name–the one where Linguini is being confronted by the scheming Skinner about his knowledge of rats in the restaurant…
Skinner: You know something about rats, you know you do!
Linguini: You know who know, do, whacka-do. Ratta-tatta – Hey, why do they call it that?
Skinner: What?
Linguini: Ratatouille. It’s like a stew, right? Why do they call it that? If you’re gonna name a food, you should give it a name that sounds delicious. Ratatouille doesn’t sound delicious. It sounds like “rat” and “patootie.” Rat patootie! Which does not sound delicious.
[holds out his glass for more wine]
Skinner: [growling] Regrettably, we are all… out… of wine.
That scene makes me giggle every time I think of it!
I assure you that, despite the sound of the name, Ratatouille is every bit delicious! It’s a terrific blend of saucy tomatoes, tender carrots, al denté zucchini and summer squash swimming around with plenty of bacon and garlic. Topped with a little freshly grated cheese, Ratatouille is an infusion of goodness that will satisfy even the most tenacious of growing-boy-appetites.
Although my aunt prefers to divide her Ratatouille into single servings, perhaps my favorite part of making Ratatouille is the fact that I can usually eke out three different meals out of a single batch! The first night, I serve Ratatouille as is with plenty of crusty bread on the side.
The second night, I heat a healthy amount of the leftovers in a skillet and poach a few eggs in the center for a take on huevos rancheros, but with less salsa and more ratatouille …or something.
And then…THEN! On the third day, I puree any remaining ratatouille with my immersion blender, reheat it with a couple of frozen meatballs that I have stashed in the freezer, boil a little pasta, and poof! Spaghetti and meatballs for lunch!
I just love it when I can get some serious mileage out of a single recipe. That’s my kind of Work Smarter Not Harder kind of cooking!
Here’s the homemade ratatouille recipe. Enjoy!
♥♥♥
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 8
A hearty, fresh vegetable stew to nourish your body and warm your soul.
20 minPrep Time
20 minCook Time
40 minTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- ½ lb. Bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound fresh tomatoes, diced
- 1 C. yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 large zucchini, scrubbed and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 large summer squash (such as yellow or sunburst,) scrubbed and cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 (14 oz.) can of crushed tomatoes (or sauce)
- 1 ½ tsp. dried oregano
- ½ tsp. Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- ½ to 1 C. shredded Asiago or Romano cheese, optional
Instructions
- Brown the bacon until almost crisp, in a large skillet set over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- Add the onions to the pan, and continue to cook until they are soft and the bacon is crisp. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (about one minute.)
- Stir the diced tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, carrots, and seasonings into the skillet, and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes, or until they soften slightly and brighten in color. Pour the crushed tomatoes over the vegetables, stirring well to coat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of freshly grated Asiago cheese, and a thick slice of crusty bread.
Notes
Leftover Ratatouille is wonderful when morphed into different meals. The simplest idea is to puree the leftovers and serve it as a pasta sauce. My personal favorite is to reheat the Ratatouille in a skillet, make wells in the center, crack eggs into the wells, sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper, and cover the skillet to poach/steam the eggs.
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