In Provence, every grandmother worth her Dutch oven has a ratatouille recipe that family members swear is unsurpassed.

But in the U.S., this divine stew of late summer and early fall vegetables is too often a victim of kitchen sink syndrome, resulting in a sloppy hodgepodge of ingredients lacking focus and definition.

"The first thing that people don't understand is that ratatouille consists of very specific vegetables, not just what you have in your refrigerator," says Mediterranean food expert Clifford Wright.

"It's as if you are making clam chowder and started adding beans," he says. "It's no longer a clam chowder, but a bean soup."

Historians have traced ratatouille's origins to the French coastal town of Nice early in the last century. It entered the American culinary lexicon thanks to Julia Child and Gourmet magazine, then became firmly entrenched last year after Disney turned the recipe into a movie.

Done well, it tastes as good warm as cold and is versatile enough to be a side, starter (its true intention), nestled inside an omelet or paired with crusty bread, pasta or meat and offered as an entree.

Ready to ditch the kitchen sink and do it right? Here's what you need to know.

The vegetables

Though many Americans have come to think of ratatouille as just a fancy name for vegetable stew, traditional versions call for specific vegetables -- onions, garlic, zucchini, squash, green peppers, eggplant and tomatoes.

Within this mix, chefs mix it up by using different colored peppers and squash, but that's where the improv should end. Other flavorings are limited to fresh herbs, such as thyme, basil and bay leaves, and extra-virgin olive oil.

And while everyone knows fresh is best, in ratatouille, it's more than just a shopping tip. The older and larger a vegetable is, the more water it contains. During cooking and on the plate, that water will seep out, watering down the flavors and turning the ingredients to mush.

That's why chef Thomas Keller, who consulted on the movie "Ratatouille," recommends avoiding large eggplants, zucchini and squash. Small and medium vegetables will have a lower water content.

As for tomatoes, in addition to adding flavor, they also serve as a binder, cooking down into a paste as the dish simmers. A blend of beefsteak (which stand up to long simmers) and plum (which thicken as they cook) is best.

The prep

The most time-consuming part of a ratatouille is cutting the vegetables. And that's because size matters.

Each vegetable cooks at a different speed, so cutting each to the optim

al size to ensure even cooking -- and cooking that is evenly paced with the other ingredients -- is important.

Generally speaking, the faster a vegetable cooks, the larger the pieces it should be cut into. Likewise, vegetables that take longer to cook get cut into smaller chunks.

For example, Jacques Pepin suggests cutting squash larger than eggplant, which takes the longest to cook. Because the tomatoes mostly melt down anyway, size is less of an issue.

And because eggplant can be bitter, once you've got it cut, it's a good idea to give it some time to drain. This is done by sprinkling the pieces with salt, then letting them rest on paper towels or in a colander. This also prevents the eggplant from absorbing too much oil during cooking.

While it's not crucial to seed the tomatoes, Keller says doing so allows for greater control over flavor. The seed area contains significant amounts of water and can add bitter flavors.

Keller also urges removing the tomato skins, which can lend an unpleasant texture.

The cooking

There are two common approaches, and neither works well for the home cook.

The traditional method sautes each vegetable separately, then combines the ingredients over low heat to allow the flavors to blend. This approach accommodates different cooking times for different vegetables but is time-consuming.

The alternative is to dump everything in the pan together. While this does save time, it also invariably leaves some vegetables overcooked and some undercooked.

Better is to borrow a bit from each method.

By following Pepin's advice and cutting the vegetables according to the speed at which they cook, it's possible to divide the ingredients into two batches (one slow, one fast), and cook them in two pans.

Finally, ratatouille is a dish that needs time. Cooking the combined ingredients over low heat for roughly an hour allows the vegetables to tenderize (but not become mushy), some of the water to evaporate and the flavors to meld.

If there still is too much liquid at the end of an hour of simmering (more than a few tablespoons is too much and will water down the flavors of the dish), drain most of it before finishing with extra-virgin olive oil.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a great early fall dish, calling for many of the vegetables piling up at farmers markets. It also can be prepared in large batches, as it only improves with age and tastes as good cold as warm. Pair it with a fresh baguette, tossed with pasta or folded into an omelet.

If after the hour-long simmer the ratatouille has more than a few tablespoons of water in the pan, use a spoon to drain and discard it. This usually is a problem only if you've used large vegetables, which have a higher water content than smaller ones.

Start to finish: Two hours (one hour active)

Servings: Six to eight

2 medium or 4 small eggplants, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 tablespoon kosher salt

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 sprigs fresh basil

3 sprigs fresh parsley

2 beefsteak tomatoes

1 plum tomato

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 medium yellow onions, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 green bell pepper, cored and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

3 medium or 4 to 5 small zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 medium or 4 small summer squash, cut into 1-inch pieces

Extra-virgin olive oil, to finish

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

In a large bowl, toss the eggplant pieces with the kosher salt. Transfer the pieces to a colander set over a bowl or in the sink. Let drain for 30 minutes. Gently press the pieces with paper towels to absorb any remaining liquid. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bundle together the thyme, basil and parsley, using kitchen twine to tie them together. Set aside.

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Fill a large bowl with ice water.

While the water heats, use a knife to cut very shallow crosses in the tops and bottoms of all three tomatoes. The cuts should go only deep enough to break the skins of the tomatoes.

Use a slotted spoon to place the tomatoes in the boiling water. After 30 seconds, use the spoon to transfer the tomatoes to the ice water. Once the tomatoes are cool, the skins should peel off easily.

Cut each tomato in half, then use a spoon to scrape out and discard the seeds. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, discarding any tough cores. Set aside.

In a large Dutch oven or large skillet over medium, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions and both peppers, then sautee until soft, about seven minutes.

Add the garlic, and sautee another three minutes. Add the bundle of fresh herbs, bay leaf and chopped tomatoes. Cook until only a little liquid remains, about five minutes. Set aside.

In a separate large skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the eggplants, zucchini and squash, then sautee until just tender, about five to seven minutes.

Add the eggplant mixture to the onion mixture, then set the Dutch oven over medium-low and let cook, uncovered, for one hour. Stir gently now and again to make sure the vegetables are not sticking.

Remove and discard the herb bundle and bay leaf. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.

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