is ratatouille an Italian dish?

Question

I was told it was a french dish, and it has a quite french-sounding name, but the first time I saw and tasted it I thought : "that is Italian food!" it has nothing to see with french food...

Answer 1

If you're referring to the dish with tomatoes, I would think you can trace it back to an Italian origin. However, Ratatouille is presently a French dish.

The reason I think it's Italian in origin is the use of tomato. Most of the countries in Europe thougth the tomato was poisonous since it's a member of the Nightshade family.

Italians were probably one of the first cultures (maybe Spain) to grow and use tomatoes for food.

Answer 2

The word Ratatouille comes from "touiller," which means to toss food or kaponata. Ratatouille originated in the area around present day Nice. It was, originally, a poor farmer's dish, prepared in the summer with fresh summer vegetables. The original Ratatouille Niçoise did not contain eggplant (which would not have been available during the same time period as the other vegetables used). Instead, it used only zucchini (courgettes), tomatoes, green and red peppers (bell peppers), onion, and garlic. The dish known today as Ratatouille adds aubergine (eggplant) to that mixture.

French ratatouille is usually served as a side dish, but also may be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by rice, potatoes, or simple French bread). It is most often a lunch dish. Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, zucchini (courgettes), eggplant (aubergine), bell peppers (poivron), some herbes de Provence, and sometimes basil and sometimes potatoes. All the ingredients are sautéed lightly in olive oil.

There are two common ways to prepare ratatouille. The ingredients can be cooked separately and combined together towards the end of the cooking time; alternatively, the garlic, onions, zucchini, eggplant, and peppers can be cooked together for an extended time over low heat, and combined with the tomatoes when soft and beginning to brown. The key to either method of preparation is making sure the vegetables, and especially the eggplant, are cooked sufficiently.

Answer 3

Italian Ratatouille

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Ratatouille is neither French nor Italian. It is Western Mediterranean. Therefore, it part of the cuisines of Provence, Nice, Piedmont, Liguria and others. People naturally guess it is an Italian dish because it fits so neatly with Italian cuisine. In fact, when the dish originated, the area of Nice and Monaco were under Italian influence. There was no Italian state. So this Italianish dish entered French cuisine through Nice when it was annexed in 19th century. This is similar as to how many German dishes entered French cuisine through the French annexation of Alsace, a border region which was originally German. History simply isn't neat, and many cultures, especially the Mediterranean regions, had their own integrity for centuries. A Provencal and a Piedmontese probably had a lot more in common with each linguistically and culturally than they did with France or Italy. The regions are on either side of the Alps, so that's how national politics divided them.

Answer 6

Italian Dish Names

Answer 7

Ratatouille is a french dish, i can understand why you would think it was Italian, Southern France have a lot in common with Italy including pasta, don't forget that France has some
Mediterranean coastline neighbouring Italy

Answer 8

Ratatouille is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish from Nice -- South of France. Since Nice is on the Mediterranean, that could be a reason why you thought it had Italian flavors. Fresh veggies, herbs, garlic, olive oil... you get the point.

Answer 9

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
is ratatouille an Italian dish?
I was told it was a french dish, and it has a quite french-sounding name, but the first time I saw and tasted it I thought : "that is Italian food!" it has nothing to see with french food...

Answer 10

Yes and not. You're at the same time wrong and correct.
In fact the dish has been originated in Nice that is nowadays in French territory but at the time when the "ratatouille" had been invented the region of Nice was belonging to Italian territory. In fact Nice (Nizza for us Italian) is very close to the current Italian border but in the past it was in Italy and it passed to France rather recently. To be exact it was included in France in 1860, during the Italian wars of Independence.

EDIT - and btw below answer about an Italian (?) dish named "jamboti" or "giamboti" I've never heard a similar name here in Italy. The Italian dish closer to the "ratatouille" is the "caponata" but it sounds way different....!!