Niçoise Ratatouille

1 h 25 min 4 servings Medium

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A refined Niçoise ratatouille made with tomatoes, courgettes, aubergines and colourful peppers, cooked separately before being gently combined with garlic and fresh Mediterranean herbs.

In Cuisine de Nice, published in 1920, H. Heyraud described a stew of aubergines, tomatoes, courgettes and peppers that was enjoyed throughout Languedoc and Provence. In Nice, this traditional vegetable dish became known as “ratatouille” or “sauté à la niçoise.”

This carefully prepared version cooks the vegetables separately before bringing them together with a rich tomato base, garlic and fresh herbs. This method preserves their individual textures and flavours while creating a beautifully balanced Mediterranean dish.

Ingredients

5 tomatoes

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1/2 red bell pepper

2 white onions approximately 80 g each

3 Niçoise courgettes

3 aubergines

4 cloves of garlic

2 sprigs of thyme

2 basil

2 sprigs of parsley

olive oil as needed

salt to taste

black pepper freshly ground, to taste

Preparation

Prepare the vegetables

25 min

Blanch the tomatoes briefly in boiling water, peel them, cut them into quarters and remove the seeds. Char the peppers until their skins blister, then peel and seed them before cutting them into strips approximately 2 × 5 cm. Peel the onions and slice them about 3 mm thick. Wash the courgettes and cut them into rounds 3–5 mm thick. Wash the aubergines and cut them into half-moons of the same thickness. Lightly crush the garlic cloves and strip the leaves from the thyme. Wash and pick the basil and parsley leaves. Reserve four basil leaves and four small parsley sprigs for serving, then roughly chop the remaining herbs.

Cook the tomato base

30 min

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a casserole. Add the tomatoes, garlic and onions and cook gently until they begin to soften. Season with salt, cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Add the thyme and the chopped basil and parsley. Mix carefully and keep warm.

Sauté the vegetables separately

20 min

Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the aubergines until tender and lightly golden, season with salt, then transfer them to a colander to drain. Repeat the process separately with the courgettes and then the peppers, adding a little more olive oil when necessary.

Combine and simmer

10 min

Add the sautéed aubergines, courgettes and peppers to the casserole containing the tomatoes and onions. Simmer gently until all the vegetables are tender and meltingly soft. Stir carefully to combine them without breaking them apart.

Season and serve

Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil. Divide the ratatouille among four plates and garnish each serving with a basil leaf and a small sprig of parsley.