Ratatouille

Step into the sun-drenched fields of Provence with this classic Ratatouille recipe! More than just a vegetable stew, Ratatouille is a celebration of summer's finest produce, beautifully layered and slow-baked to perfection. Made famous by the beloved animated film, this rustic French dish combines eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and bell peppers in a fragrant tomato sauce. It's a vibrant, healthy, and incredibly flavorful dish that's as beautiful to look at as it is to eat. Let's bring a touch of French countryside charm to your kitchen!

Ratatouille

Cooking: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Quantity: 4 Servings

Per serving

Calories: 131 kcal

Proteins: 3 g

Fats: 5.7 g

Carbohydrates: 16 g

Ingredients for Ratatouille

• 1-2 zucchini or young summer squash
• 1-2 small eggplants
• 5-7 tomatoes

For the tomato sauce:

• 4 medium tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 sweet bell pepper, preferably red
• 1 hot red chili pepper - optional
• salt, sugar, ground black pepper to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Also needed:

• a bunch of parsley
• 1-2 cloves of garlic

How to Make Ratatouille

Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes into rounds of equal diameter, about 2-3 mm thick. The thinner the slices, the easier it will be to arrange the vegetables in a circle or spiral, and they will bake faster.

Slicing eggplants, zucchini, and tomatoes into rounds

To remove any bitterness from the eggplants and make the slices more flexible, sprinkle them with salt and let them sit for 10 minutes, then rinse with water.

To remove bitterness from the eggplants, sprinkle them with salt and let them sit for a few minutes

While the eggplants are resting, let’s prepare the tomato sauce for the ratatouille. Peel and finely chop the onion. Rinse the bell pepper, remove the stem and seeds, and dice it.

Chopping the onion, pepper, and herbs

Sauté the onion in olive or sunflower oil until golden and translucent.

Add the diced sweet pepper to the onion and continue to sauté over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Turn the tomatoes for the sauce into a paste: you can blanch them in boiling water, then transfer to cold water, peel the skin, and dice them. However, it’s simpler to cut the tomatoes in half and grate the pulp on a coarse grater.

Sautéing the onion

Adding pepper to the onion

Adding tomato to the onion and pepper

Chop the herbs and mix with garlic

Grease a baking dish with vegetable oil and spread half of the sauce on the bottom (we’ll use the other half to pour over the finished ratatouille when serving).

Now, arrange the vegetable slices on top of the sauce, alternating them: eggplant-tomato-zucchini. If you have a round dish, it looks beautiful arranged in a spiral or in rings, with a flower shape in the center. If the dish is rectangular, you can arrange the slices in rows.

Spreading some of the sauce on the bottom of the dish

Arranging the sliced vegetables, alternating them

Sprinkle with herbs and bake

Bake at 180-200°C (350-400°F) for 35 to 45 minutes—until the vegetables are tender (you can check with the tip of a knife after carefully removing the dish from the oven and lifting the paper).

To serve the ratatouille beautifully, slide a silicone spatula or spoon under a portion of the vegetable slices and, holding it with a fork on the other side, transfer it to a plate.

Ratatouille

Serve the ratatouille with the remaining tomato sauce, garnished with fresh herbs. It’s delicious both warm and cold. Even without a side dish or meat!

Ratatouille