Ratatouille Recipe and Movie Study

Ratatouille - Movie Unit Study

Ratatouille is such a delightful movie. The story is wonderful, especially for kids who have to overcome struggles and challenges. This was the movie that sparked Mr. T's desire to become a home chef. Remy the rat is a fantastic character who marches to the beat of his own drum and manages to fulfill his dream of becoming a chef in spite of being, well, a rat.

There are countless ways to incorporate learning into the viewing of Ratatouille. We have created a fun mini-unit for you to use in your home with your young learners. This study is perfect for 1st-5th graders.

The older students can do their own research to answer some of the questions to learn about France while the younger learners will need some help. And the discussion questions will give you lots of fun talking topics with every age pupil.

For our Substack subscribers you can grab the printable movie study at the end of this post. For our wonderful friends who aren’t subscribers, you can get the movie unit in our shop here and complete check out.

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The Ratatouille movie unit study includes:

Ratatouille Discussion Questions

Enjoy digging deeper into the world of Ratatouille with these 15 discussion questions.

The Talents of Remy

This page gives your young scholars a place to draw scenes from the movie to illustrate different admirable character traits of Remy, the protagonist.

The World of France

This page has 8 fun fill-in-the-blank questions about France and a space for a fun fact your student learns as they research the answers to the other questions.

Try a new recipe: 

The French have so many wonderful recipes and there is something for every age to create! Here are some of our favorite french recipes.

• Crepes - fill them with applesauce, nutella, sunbutter and bananas, whatever makes you happy!

• Creme Brûlée - these are better for a parent or older child as they are involved but so delicious.

• Soufflé - Chocolate soufflé is a lovely end to any meal. It isn't difficult to make, but it can be a bit temperamental.

• Quiche - we make ours crustless and often make individual ones in muffin tins.

• Eclairs - This is a pastry. This kind of baking is a science and is a great kitchen chemistry lesson for older kids.

• French Onion Soup - this heart soup is delicious any time of year.

• French apple tart - we make ours with an almond flour crust (and leave out the liqueur) and may, on occasion, have it for breakfast.

• Ratatouille, of course! And we have Chef Teddy's recipe below!

What Is Ratatouille? 

The authentic Ratatouille recipe is a simple vegetable dish from the Nice area in France. Traditionally a peasant dish served as a stew, the layered/deconstructed version from the movie has grown in popularity.

This is our very simple recipe for a beautiful ratatouille. If you're not up for the layering, simply sauté your veggies in batches, add the tomato sauce to the stock pot and pile the veggies in with it and simmer on medium/low heat for 45 minutes or until the veggies are tender but not mushy.

My favorite part of ratatouille, besides the fact that it's really healthy and the boys will eat it, is how pretty and colorful it is! We prefer to use Japanese eggplants because their size is better with the other veggies, but the store was out so we got a regular eggplant. You can absolutely make a more traditional French-inspired tomato sauce but we use jarred for ease when Chef Teddy is cooking.

Ingredients:

Marinara Sauce - When we buy jarred sauce, we always go with added sugar-free sauces

2 Yellow Squash

2 Zucchini

1 regular eggplant or 2 Japanese eggplants

Red, green, and yellow bell peppers

Parmesan cheese (optional)

How to make Ratatouille:

Slice your eggplant first, lay it out flat and salt it well and let it sit for 20 minutes. This is a process called dégorgement and helps remove much of the excess water that can make the veggies get mushy. When they are finished, take a paper towel and soak up the water before assembling the ratatouille.

Next, slice up all the other veggies. Cover the bottom of your pan with a heavy layer of the tomato sauce and layer the veggies standing up. Cover with a trimmed-to-fit sheet of parchment. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, top with parmesan cheese and broil on high for 2-5 minutes depending on how you like your cheese melted.

You want to let your ratatouille rest for 30 minutes before serving. Ratatouille makes a beautiful meal on it's own, is fantastic served over a baked potato, and is divine next to roast cornish hen. In the fall we prefer to make it as a stew and sometime add a bit of ground meat to it, but it's quite hearty on its own. I do hope you enjoy! Don't forget to grab your Ratatouille Movie Study below!

Chef Teddy Recommends:

Curious Chef 3-Piece Nylon Knife Set 

Curious Chef 17-Piece Measure & Prep Kit

 Curious Chef Kids Child Chef Mitt Set