How do you serve ratatouille? Is ratatouille a side dish? Is ratatouille a main dish? What is ratatouille, anyway? The answers to all your ratatouille questions are right here—including five best ways to serve ratatouille. Read on!
I love using my braiser for Ratatouille. What? You don’t know what a braiser is? Read my post to help you to decide if this is a must-have for you or not.
Five Ways to Serve Ratatouille
1. As a Side Dish to Meats
Veal Chop with Ratatouille. Ratatouille goes well with all kinds of grilled meats—love it with flank steak, lamb, and veal, especially.
2. With an Array of Summery Salads
From upper right: Ratatouille, White Bean-Tarragon Salad (page 52 of the Bonne Femme Cookbook), and Tabbouleh. Plus a little cracker of a local washed-rind sheeps-milk cheese. Gorgeous lunch on a hot day.
3. With a Poached Egg Salad and a Cheese Tray
J’adore poached egg salads, and ratatouille is a super summer go-along. Just add a few cheese-topped crackers for a satisfying, flavor-charged meal.
4. As a Vegetarian Main Dish
Serve with a risotto or (even easier), my Rice Cremeux (page 240 of The Bonne Femme Cookbook) for a great vegetarian main dish.
5. With an Omelet
Ratatouille is a natural with eggs. Pictured here is a Rolled French Omelet with Fines Herbes (page 299 of The Bonne Femme Cookbook)
And now: Four Secrets to a Great Ratatouille
1. Find a great recipe (mine is here).
2. Use only the best, freshest ingredients you can find.
Don’t even bother to make ratatouille if you can’t find great in-season veggies. Pictured above is a great farmers market haul.
3. Use a Great Olive Oil
I got olive oil from Nicolas Alziari in Nice. It’s available at Williams-Sonoma, but you don’t need to use that particular oil. Just use the best one you have. It will make a difference in this dish.
4. Give It a Rest
After you’ve made the ratatouille, refrigerate it for a day. Those flavors will really take off after some time together.
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More Recipes:
How to Serve Ratatouille with Eggs
How to Serve Ratatouille with Salad
How to Serve Ratatouille with as a Side Dish
How to Serve Ratatouille as a Main Dish
How to Serve Ratatouille -Warm vs Cold
[…] and also with fried eggs, which is the way my French mom says to do it. Chez Bonne Femme has some great tips for how to serve Ratatouille, so be sure to check those […]
I serve it with seasoned lentils and whole grain bread.
It wouldn’t work as a vegetarian main course because there is no protein in it.
I have some white beans I am going to add to my ratatouille and quinoa . That covers the protein part - hope that helps
I followed recommendation #2 last night- “Array of Summery Salads”- with Alice Waters’ ratatouille and the tarragon bean salad along with my own mushroom brown rice dish and a green salad. Cheese, fruit, absinthe, and a few French wines made for a delicious Bastille Day dinner with friends.