Why is ratatouille so great? It’s affordable to make, feeds a crowd and is delicious on its own or as a side dish.
Ratatouille is a French Provençal stewed vegetable dish that classically contains tomato, garlic, onion, courgette, aubergine, green, red or yellow pepper and some combination of leafy green herbs. Ratatouille is a fantastic way to use vegetables left behind in your fridge and a delicious way to serve up an extra helping of nutrients, vitamins and minerals at every meal!
Ratatouille Recipe
This Ratatouille will be thick and delicious with every bite.
What You Need:
- 2 brown onions
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 4-6 courgettes
- 2 aubergines
- 3 red peppers
- Olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stems
- Fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems
- 2 x 400g tins chopped, peeled tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Fresh basil, for serving
- Lemon zest, for serving (optional)
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Place baking paper on two large oven trays, then prepare the vegetables. Cut the onions into thick slices and smash the garlic cloves (skin on). Thereafter, slice the courgettes into one-centimetre rounds and the aubergines into two-centimetre cubes. Slice each of the peppers into eight strips, then spread the veggies on the baking trays, making sure they form an even layer.
- Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables and sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs. Place in the oven for 45 min – 1 hour. Some of the vegetables cook faster than others – 35 minutes for the peppers, about 1 hour for the onions. Stir the vegetables every 15 minutes.
- Once cooked, place all the vegetables into a casserole dish, removing the garlic skins. Add the tins of tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar and stir to combine. Reduce the oven to 180°C. Place the casserole dish into the oven for 40 min – 1 hour, until everything has reduced and the sauce is beautiful and thick.
- Serve with fresh basil leaves and a sprinkle of lemon zest, if desired.
5 Ways To Eat Ratatouille
- Serve it hot in a bowl with a crispy piece of French bread to mop up the gravy. Alternatively, toast the same French bread and spoon the Ratatouille on top as a fancy toast topping.
- Serve it alongside roast chicken or fish. The vegetables lend themselves well to white meat.
- Make a warm winter lentil salad, by combining the ratatouille with heated cooked lentils (for protein), garnished with olives and extra fresh basil.
- Turn the ratatouille into the base for a shakshuka. Heat it gently in a pan, make 4 wells and crack some eggs inside. It’s the perfect cosy brunch for a cold winter’s morning.
- Add it to soups for extra flavour and texture. If you have a vegetable or tomato soup that needs a little richness, add in scoops of ratatouille to make it heartier.
For more delicious recipes, check out our recipe hub!
Stock Image credit: Food photo created by azerbaijan_stockers – www.freepik.com