Chunky ratatouille with chicken

Ratatouille is not fancy food

Everybody knows that ratatouille is not haute cuisine. It doesn’t feature on fine dining menus, it won’t award you a Michelin rosette if you’ve mastered the skill of chopping courgettes and tomatoes. It’s a bit common, a bit lower echelons of the table, a bit ‘bof’ as the French would succinctly put it.

Do what you will in terms of the technique, it will still be a dish of stewed vegetables. However fancy the way they should be arranged, in layers or fanned out, alternating tomatoes and courgettes picturesquely, the taste result will be the same.

Is there only one way to cook ratatouille?

Therefore there is not one correct method, though some French chefs will certainly beg to differ.

You can cook every vegetable separately and then simmer them together, or you can bung them into the pot one by one, roughly in the order of cooking times. I’ve tried both and more, and again: what you get is a ratatouille. Anyone can cook – especially a ratatouille.

It's a Provençal classic

And that’s perfectly fine: the good folks of Provence make the most of what they have in plenty, democratically combining their popular vegetables.

If we were to make our equivalent in Britain, it would possibly be a mix of turnips, cabbage and potatoes: a hearty, albeit not hugely appealing chow. Locality reigns over cuisine and so it should: some get pan bagnat and others a chip butty.

I never look down on ratatouille (perhaps because I’m not French and only encountered aubergines in my late teens) and always make an enormous pot of it, regardless of which method I employ.

The nice thing about it is that it can very well be noshed at room temperature on the next day, so I aim for plenty of leftovers.

Ratatouille with a chicken twist

I’m happy to consume ratatouille for my main meal, accompanied just with crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

But good news for people who look for bacon in their scrambled eggs is that you can easily make it carnivore-friendly with chunks of chicken. I’m sure it’s not very Provençal or even French in spirit but as an easy and versatile resource you can’t whack it.

How to cook my ratatouille?

My ratatouille with chicken starts with chicken, bien sur. And because of the meat element, it is better to cook the vegetables in stages, layer them in a casserole dish and then bake them for half an hour for the flavours to combine.

For that, you’ll need a frying pan and an oven dish. If it’s cast iron, all the better: the elements of the ratatouille can be kept over low heat whilst waiting for the next ingredients to join them.

The chicken is browned first, and removed from the frying pan. Adding a drop more of oil if necessary, the onions with garlic go in next, followed by the peppers, courgettes, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Each vegetable should be cooked only until slightly coloured, before being transferred into the communal pot.

Season it at the end

Once the ingredients are all in there, off they go to the oven to soften and fuse the flavour, without any seasoning, especially salt. If you salt ratatouille too early, it might turn too soupy as salt draws out moisture. Only chicken is seasoned before cooking because it improves the flavour.

After baking for half an hour, all the aromatics can be added and salt too, to taste. Herbs – and I like tarragon for this dish as it pairs so wonderfully well with chicken. A little heat and sweetness from chilli jam, hot honey or sweet chilli sauce won’t go amiss, plus smoked paprika to enhance tomatoes and Parmesan for a hit of umami.

This is a great main course, served simply with crusty bread (baguette if available of course).

More Provençal recipes

Tian de courgettes, courgette and spinach gratin, courgette bake - however you call it, it's a great vegetarian recipe. Zucchini and spinach are a well matched couple, often appearing in risottos, pasta and frittatas.

Pissaladière Provençal is a simple savoury tart from Nice, with onion, anchovy and olive topping on pizza dough. In other words, salty fish on pizza!

Anchovy braised vegetable medley, Provençal style aubergine, courgette and mushrooms gently cooked in anchovy sauce with garlic and a touch of lemon.

More chicken and vegetable recipes

Chicken breast and vegetable tray bake – it’s good for a weeknight dinner and impressive enough for easy entertaining. Only one pan to wash up!

Creamy chicken with mushrooms and leeks, one pan dish great with pasta. Tender chicken pieces cooked in creamy sauce, with caramelised leeks and mushrooms.

Chicken with grapes and olives oven baked with a few chestnut mushrooms looks autumnal and tastes divine. Sweet and salty combo is not just for caramel ice cream, you see!