No.38 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Ratatouille

Made famous by Julia Child

Photo: Marcus Guimarães, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 1961.

Provence's summer vegetable stew, and after the Pixar film one of the most searched vegetable dishes in the world.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) eggplant, peeled in strips, cut into 3 by 1-inch slices
• 1 lb (450 g) zucchini, cut into slices the same size
• 1 tsp fine salt, plus more to taste
• 6 to 8 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups (about 2 medium) thinly sliced yellow onions
• 2 green or red bell peppers, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, mashed
• 1 lb (450 g) ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut into strips
• Black pepper and 3 tbsp minced parsley

Steps

1. Toss the eggplant and zucchini with the salt and let drain in a colander 30 minutes. Pat dry.
2. In a large skillet, heat 4 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the eggplant and zucchini in batches, a minute or two a side, until lightly browned but still firm. Set aside.
3. In the same pan, with more oil, cook the onions and peppers gently until tender but not browned, 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and season.
4. Lay the tomato strips over the onions, cover and cook 5 minutes, until they release their juice. Uncover and baste with the juices, then boil a few minutes until the juice has almost gone.
5. In a heavy casserole, layer a third of the tomato mixture, sprinkle with parsley, then half the eggplant and zucchini, then tomatoes and parsley, the rest of the eggplant and zucchini, and the rest of the tomatoes and parsley.
6. Cover and simmer over low heat 10 minutes. Uncover, tilt the pan and baste with the juices. Raise the heat slightly and cook 15 minutes more, basting several times, until the juices have almost evaporated and only a spoonful of oil remains.
7. Taste for seasoning. Serve hot, warm or cold.

Chef's tips

• Cooking the vegetables separately keeps them from turning to mush.
• Serve with a fried egg and bread for dinner.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child: get the book, No. 1 on The 100 Greatest Cookbooks.

← No. 37French onion soup→ No. 39Chocolate mousse