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Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a basic French vegetable stew which can be served as a main or side dish. The main ingredients are tomatoes, aubergine, bell pepper and courgette, gently sautéed with onion, garlic and herbs. It’s a very popular and easy dish to make, so there are thousands of “best” recipes  -  to be honest you can’t go wrong with this basic version. If you want it stew-like, use tinned tomatoes; if you want it more like sautéed veggies, then use tomato purée (the later is the original Provencal version). You can use other dried herbs too, such as marjoram or herbes de Provence . Serve it with crusty bread or boiled rice - alternatively it goes well with grilled fish or meat. The thicker version makes perfect topping for puff pastry tarts &pizzas -  and if you blitz it, you'll get an excellent vegan dip or sandwich spread.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Resting Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 6 people
Cuisine: French
Calories: 1234
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 2 red or yellow peppers
  • 1 medium aubergine
  • 1 large courgette
  • 1 red onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Leaves of 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 4 ripe tomatoes
  • 1 tin plum tomatoes or 2 Tbsps. tomato purée
  • 1 handful of fresh basil or flat parsley leaves
  • Salt and pepper

Method
 

  1. Thinly slice the onion and mince the garlic.
  2. Cut the courgette, red pepper and aubergine into cubes. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Pick the basil/parsley leaves and set them aside, then thinly chop the stalks.
  3. In a large casserole dish, heat some olive oil and stir the aubergine pieces for 5 minutes, then set aside. Then cook the courgette pieces for 3 minutes and set aside. Then cook the pepper pieces for a couple of minutes and set aside. It’s important not to overcook the veggies.
  4. Heat another spoonful of and add the onion slices. Gently sauté them for 5 minutes, then add the thyme leaves (or dried herbs of your choice), the chopped fresh tomatoes, garlic and the vinegar. If the tomatoes are not ripe, add a small spoonful of sugar. Cook over medium heat until sticky (for about 3-5 minutes).
  5. Add the tinned tomatoes or tomato purée, let it bubble for a few seconds, then return the fried aubergine, courgette and red pepper. Season to taste.
  6. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until the veggies are tender and the sauce is thick and sticky. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed.
  7. Serve with chopped basil or parsley leaves scattered on top.