Ratatouille (IPA:; French pronunciation: , American pronunciation "ra-ta-TOO-ee", ) is a traditional French Provençal stewed vegetable dish. The dish, originating in Nice, is fully named ratatouille niçoise.
French ratatouille may be served as a meal on its own (accompanied by rice, potatoes, or simple French bread), or as a side dish. Tomatoes are a key ingredient, with garlic, onions, zucchini (courgettes), eggplant (aubergine), bell peppers (capsicum), some herbes de Provence, and sometimes basil. All the ingredients are sautéed lightly in olive oil.
When ratatouille is used as a filling for savoury crepes or to fill an omelette, the pieces are cut smaller than in the illustration.
There is a Maltese version of ratatouille called "kapunata", which is very similar to its French counterpart. Kapunata is made with tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant, and garlic, and goes well with grilled fish. A similar recipe is called "caponata' in Italian, while a comparable Spanish dish is called "pisto" and the Hungarians have lecsó (the vegetarian version). A comparable Turkish dish, imam bayaldi (translated, "the imam swooned"), uses small eggplants sliced lengthwise as outer shells for an aromatic vegetable filling. American chef Thomas Keller invented a contemporary variation, confit byaldi, for the film Ratatouille.