Pure summer – ratatouille is a classic French vegetable dish from Provence. Ripe zucchini and eggplant, crunchy bell peppers and juicy, fragrant tomatoes. Plus garlic, onions, fine olive oil and fresh herbs. That’s really all it takes to taste summer on your palate. My favorite ratatouille recipe also includes celery, which gives the whole thing a special flavor note.
Basically, everything is roughly chopped, sautéed and braised. Serve with fresh baguette or rice and you have a light and healthy meal that can be enjoyed both warm and cold. And if you make a bigger batch right away, you might even have some left for the lunchbox or a quick side dish for grilled meat the next day.
Basically, everything is roughly chopped, sautéed and braised. Serve with fresh baguette or rice and you have a light and healthy meal that can be enjoyed both warm and cold. And if you make a bigger batch right away, you might even have some left for the lunchbox or a quick side dish for grilled meat the next day.
The recipe
Ratatouille
Prep 30 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Total 1 hour 10 minutes
Cuisine French
Ingredients
Adjust servings servings
- 1 eggplant
- 2 zucchini, small
- 2 bell peppers, yellow or red
- 3 stalks celery
- 6 tomatoes, ripe
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 onions
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 150 ml vegetable broth
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 sprigs fresh oregano
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- salt, pepper
- cayenne pepper, chili, to taste
Nutrition per serving, approx.: 429 kcal12 g protein66 g carbs16 g fat16 g fiber
Estimates, calculated from the ingredients.
Instructions
- Cut 1 eggplant into slices, lay them out on paper towels and salt lightly to draw out the moisture (see also Tips & Tricks).
- In the meantime, halve the 2 zucchini and cut into pieces just under 1 cm thick.
- Seed the 2 bell peppers and cut into rough pieces.
- Pull the strings off 3 stalks celery with a knife and cut into slices about 0.5 mm thick.
- Ideally, peel the 6 tomatoes and cut into rough pieces. The quickest way is with a tomato peeler (Anzeige), otherwise do it the classic way: dip the tomatoes briefly into boiling water and peel them.
- Finely chop 2 cloves garlic and the 2 onions.
- Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels and cut into rough pieces.
- Heat 2 – 3 tbsp olive oil in a large braising pan and sauté the garlic together with the zucchini and eggplant pieces over medium heat for about 4 minutes. Meanwhile, strip the leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme and sauté them along with the vegetables.
- Transfer the sautéed vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in the same braising pan and sauté the onions with the bell peppers and celery, also for about 4 minutes over medium heat. At the same time, chop the needles of 2 sprigs fresh rosemary and add them to the bell pepper and celery mixture.
- Return the zucchini and eggplant to the pan and carefully fold in 2 tbsp tomato paste. Let it sauté briefly.
- Add the tomato pieces and deglaze with 100–150 ml vegetable broth.
- Let everything braise for about 15 – 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. After 10 minutes, add 2 sprigs fresh oregano and let it braise along with the vegetables.
- At the end of the cooking time, take the oregano sprigs out again, season with salt and pepper and, if you like, add cayenne pepper or chili to taste.
- Serve with fresh bread.
Tips
- Eggplants should always be salted to draw out the water before frying / cooking / grilling / etc. On the one hand, this removes the slightly bitter taste, and on the other hand, they don’t soak up as much oil when frying.
- If you want to save time, you can simply use a can of peeled tomatoes. But especially in summer, you can buy such flavorful, tasty tomatoes even here that it would almost be a shame :). Many people also leave the skin on the tomatoes. But since the tomatoes fall apart while braising, you always end up with little bits of skin in the ratatouille, which I personally don’t find very pleasant.
- The fresh oregano needs to braise along for about 10 minutes to release its flavor. But if you leave it in too long, it becomes very bitter.
- If the tomatoes aren’t quite ripe yet, 1 – 2 tsp sugar help to boost the flavor a bit.
- Ratatouille is also a wonderful side dish for roasted poultry or pork. If you need space on the stove, you can simply put the sautéed vegetables in a baking dish and braise everything in the oven at 180 °C (350 °F) for 20 to 25 minutes until done. Don’t forget to stir from time to time!
- In the end, you could also sauté everything together in the pan and then braise it. But for one thing, pans usually aren’t big enough to sauté everything at once, and for another, this way you can give the vegetables different flavor notes. Zucchini and eggplant soak up quite a lot of the olive oil – garlic and thyme, for example, go perfectly with that. And the bell peppers and celery are flavored with rosemary.
- Storage: Keep the ratatouille in the fridge for 2–3 days or freeze it in portions for up to 3 months.
Find more kitchen tips from A to Z in our Kitchen A–Z.
Private notes
Saved only in your browser – nobody else can see them. They are included when you print.
Something didn’t work or did you spot a mistake? Just email contact@homemadestuff.blog – I appreciate every bit of feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ratatouille
Why do I salt the eggplant first?
The salt draws out its slightly bitter taste. It also soaks up less oil when frying. Learn more about salting eggplant.
Can I use canned tomatoes?
Yes, a can of peeled tomatoes saves time. In summer, though, ripe fresh tomatoes are worth it. If they’re not very flavorful yet, 1–2 tsp sugar helps.
What goes well with ratatouille?
This vegetable dish from Provence pairs well with roasted poultry or pork. With baguette or rice, it makes a light main course.
How long does ratatouille keep?
Transfer the cooled ratatouille to a sealed container and keep it in the fridge. It keeps for 2–3 days there. Reheat it in a pot until piping hot. You can also enjoy it lukewarm.
Can I freeze ratatouille?
Yes, ratatouille freezes well. Freeze it in portions in freezer containers or bags. It keeps for about 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge; the vegetables will be a little softer.
