Ratatouille Nicoise

About Ratatouille Nicoise

Ratatouille niçoise is the Provençal stew of summer vegetables from the south of France, and this version follows the more painstaking traditional method rather than throwing everything into one pot. Each vegetable — eggplant, zucchini, peppers, onion, and tomato — is cooked separately first, so each browns and develops its own character before they are folded together, a step that keeps the dish from turning into an indistinct mush. Salting the eggplant beforehand and patting it dry draws out moisture so it sautés to deep gold instead of soaking up oil, one of the small disciplines that separates a good ratatouille from a watery one.

The reward is a dish where every vegetable holds its shape and flavor, bound by sweet tomato, good olive oil, and the herbal backbone of herbes de Provence, thyme, and bay, with fresh basil at the end. It tastes of high summer: sweet, savory, and herb-scented, rich with olive oil but still fresh and vegetable-forward. Serve it warm or at room temperature as a side to grilled fish or lamb, spoon it over crusty bread, or let it stand a day, since like most stews it deepens overnight. Generous and vegan, it is French home cooking at its most seasonal and honest.