Ratatouille
See this recipe step by step

Ratatouille

Enjoy this superhealthy classic French vegetarian dish - counts as 4 of 5-a-day

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in around 50 minutes

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Super healthy

Method

  1. Cut the aubergines in half lengthways. Place them on the board, cut side down, slice in half lengthways again and then across into 1.5cm chunks. Cut off the courgettes ends, then across into 1.5cm slices. Peel the peppers from stalk to bottom. Hold upright, cut around the stalk, then cut into 3 pieces. Cut away any membrane, then chop into bite-size chunks.
  2. Score a small cross on the base of each tomato, then put them into a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, leave for 20 secs, then remove. Pour the water away, replace the tomatoes and cover with cold water. Leave to cool, then peel the skin away. Quarter the tomatoes, scrape away the seeds with a spoon, then roughly chop the flesh.
  3. Set a sauté pan over medium heat and when hot, pour in 2 tbsp olive oil. Brown the aubergines for 5 mins on each side until the pieces are soft. Set them aside and fry the courgettes in another tbsp oil for 5 mins, until golden on both sides. Repeat with the peppers. Don't overcook the vegetables at this stage, as they have some more cooking left in the next step.
  4. Tear up the basil leaves and set aside. Cook the onion in the pan for 5 mins. Add the garlic and fry for a further min. Stir in the vinegar and sugar, then tip in the tomatoes and half the basil. Return the vegetables to the pan with some salt and pepper and cook for 5 mins. Serve with basil.
Try

Make it your own

Give the dish a Moroccan twist by frying the onions with 2 tsp harissa paste and stirring in 400g can chickpeas, drained. For a more intense Mediterranean flavour, add 1 tbsp capers, a handful of pitted black olives and a few chopped anchovies. Make it your own Spoon into a gratin dish, sprinkle with crumbs from 2 slices bread and a handful grated parmesan. Drizzle with olive oil and grill until golden. Make it your own Add a deseeded and finely chopped chilli with the garlic for an extra kick.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, September 2006.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 21-40

  • Binder photo rojomoke

    09 May 2010

    rojomoke commented on this recipe

    How do you "Peel the peppers from stalk to bottom"? In my experience the skin doesn't come off!

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  • Binder photo cormorant2

    11 May 2010

    cormorant2 rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo Slingersday

    29 June 2010

    Slingersday commented on this recipe

    This is pretty much the way i do ratatouille , although i cook it longer and don't add the sugar as it sweetens on it's own the longer i cook it. Personnally i like it mushy and eat it with a big rare steak. Awesome

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  • Binder photo Slingersday

    29 June 2010

    Slingersday rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • Binder photo lance

    15 July 2010

    lance commented on this recipe

    You could also leave out the red wine vinegar and sugar and use a good balsamic vinegar instead................yummy!

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  • Binder photo saxxy27

    15 July 2010

    saxxy27 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic! I didn't have any courgettes, so I skipped them, and I also used the harissa idea in the "make it your own" section. Oh, and I didn't bother peeling the tomatoes, either. I ended up eating more of this than my main course, and I'm even having ratatouille leftovers for breakfast this morning.

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  • Binder photo Liana's best

    17 July 2010

    Liana's best commented on this recipe

    It can all be put into a tray, drizzled well with olive oil and baked in the oven at a high temperature (200-220oC) so it gets nicely scorched. Needs stirring after the first 20 minutes to make sure it doesn't burn on top. After cold, it can be mixed with some feta cubed, black olives and fresh basil for a lovely salad and leftovers are great with tomato sauce as a pasta sauce!

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  • Binder photo Natalie PL

    14 August 2010

    Natalie PL rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    very nice!! you just need to be very careful not to overcook the veggies - they have to keep their shape.

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  • Binder photo Amanda006

    19 August 2010

    Amanda006 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fantastic! It was really refreshing to find a recipe for ratatouille that wasn't drenched in tomato! I also used the tip about using red wine rather than the vinegar and sugar. I will make again

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  • Binder photo Jessieclay

    24 August 2010

    Jessieclay rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    Made a batch and ate it through the week - great for when you are on adiet!

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  • Binder photo Alanya T

    26 September 2010

    Alanya T rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I used tomato puree and cooked it with a moroccon twist - I didn't have any red wine vinegar so used white distilled a substitute. Added some chilli flakes to give it a bit of a kick. I quite liked the dish alongside some cous cous.

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  • Binder photo lemon_farmer

    07 October 2010

    lemon_farmer commented on this recipe

    Good recipe... but who in their right minds bothers to peel a blooming pepper?

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  • Binder photo StolenPie

    11 November 2010

    StolenPie rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Served it with sausages for the meat eaters and some garlic bread

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  • Binder photo Chatterbox

    21 November 2010

    Chatterbox rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    Easy enough to cook although, admittedly, a little lengthy considering it's only vegetables. Like a few others here, I would agree that you might need to improvise here a bit and add few extra bits and pieces because if you follow this recipe exactly as it's written, it will taste nice but feel as if something is missing. All in all, nice and healthy on its own if you are a vegetarian or as a side dish for others.

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  • Binder photo k's binder

    23 November 2010

    k's binder commented on this recipe

    Wow, nice to see a ratatouille that doesn't involve a ton of tomatoes! I do like to add tinned tomatoes sometimes but this was lovely and let all the veg flavours shine through - I thought they were really well balanced. I admit I ommit the sugar and vinegar and just added a splash of red wine because that's what I had to hand. I'm one of those weirdos who likes this as a main course with a dollop of low fat soft cheese but I've also made it as buffet-style party food and served it chilled with cous cous, sliced meats, cheese, bread etc. It's just as nice the next day - if not better :)

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  • Binder photo Paul

    12 December 2010

    Paul rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    The recipe and the method were very good. I couldn't get a hold of aubergines however, so I put in some mushrooms and it was delicious.

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  • Binder photo Purplecoyote

    22 January 2011

    Purplecoyote commented on this recipe

    Fab recipe, I've made it twice so far and it's gone down a treat among committed meat eaters! Aubergines and courgettes are firmly on the vegetable shopping list from now on :)

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  • Binder photo xtxgx

    30 January 2011

    xtxgx rated this recipe

    4 stars

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  • Binder photo skudrelita

    11 March 2011

    skudrelita rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I made this for my friends and they loved it. But I added soy sauce too :)

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  • Binder photo Judi

    22 March 2011

    Judi rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Also added tinned tomatoes but it was delicious, much nicer than the over-cooked recipes from way-back-when

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Total time

Ready in around 50 minutes

Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Super healthy

Versatile and superhealthy

Ingredients

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