Easy Ratatouille Recipe

About this recipe

Ratatouille (pronounced Rat-uh-Too-ee) is a classic French stew that's originally from Provence, a region of France that's famous for its produce. Essentially, this dish is a celebration of fresh summer produce. It's a healthy and hearty dish flavored with herbs and extra virgin olive oil. Did I mention that it's easy to cook, too?

Ingredients

To make this recipe, you need the following ingredients: 

• Onion and garlic: The base of the dish. We need one large diced onion to start the base of this dish. You can use white or yellow onion for this recipe. I used 4 cloves of garlic, but you can use less if you prefer.
• Eggplant: The best eggplants to use in this recipe are Italian eggplants because of their size and flavor. Make sure the eggplants are bright and heavy for their size.
• Zucchini: I like to keep the peel on for the zucchinis since they're very tender.
• Spices: As for flavoring, you can use fresh or dry thyme and oregano plus salt and pepper.

Instructions

• Chop all the vegetables: Dice the onion and garlic finely, peel strips on the eggplant and cut it into large cubes. Cut the zucchini into cubes as well and dice the bell peppers and the tomato. Place all the veggies in separate containers or bowls.
• Cook the onion and garlic: Heat some olive oil in a large pan and saute onion and garlic until they start looking translucent.
• Add the eggplant: Add in the eggplant to the onion and garlic and stir to combine. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until it starts getting golden brown. You might need to add more olive oil at this stage.
• Add the zucchini and peppers: Now it's time to add your zucchini and diced peppers. Stir to combine, and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Tomatoes and spices: Finally add the tomatoes, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper to the vegetables in the pan. Give it a good stir, cover and cook for about 30 minutes until all the vegetables are fully cooked.

Oven instructions

You can also make this dish in the oven. To make baked ratatouille, you need to make a base sauce before adding the vegetables.

• Saute onion and garlic until translucent. 
• Add finely chopped peppers to the onion and garlic. Cook for a few minutes. 
• Pour in one 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes) and cook for about 5 minutes. 
• Season with thyme, salt and pepper. 
• Pour the sauce in a baking dish or a cast iron skillet.
• Slice the eggplant, zucchini and tomato into medallions.
• Place them in the baking dish in an alternating pattern. 
• Cover with an aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 350°F for 45 minutes. 
• Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes. 

Instant Pot directions

You can make ratatouille recipe in the instant pot very easily:

• Press the "saute" function and pour extra virgin olive oil into the instant pot. 
• Saute onion and garlic for a minute until golden. 
• Add in chopped eggplant, zucchini and peppers. Cook for a couple of minutes and add more olive oil if needed. 
• Add one can of diced tomatoes (15 oz.) to the instant pot. If using fresh tomatoes, add ½ cup water as well. 
• Season with oregano, thyme, salt and pepper and lock the lid. 
• Press the "pressure cooker" function and set the time for 8 minutes. Make sure the valve is on "sealing."
• Once the cooking time is done, do a quick release. Place a small kitchen towel on the valve before using quick release to absorb the steam.  

Serving suggestions

Ratatouille is ideally served at room temperature or cold. While you can serve it as a main dish with a piece of crusty toasted bread, it also makes a delicious side. Consider serving it with Garlic chicken, Italian chicken or beef kabobs.

Frequently asked questions

Notes and tips

• Italian eggplants work very well for this recipe as they're usually small and less spongy than other types of eggplant. 
• You can use yellow squash instead of or in addition to zucchini. 
• The most common herbs to use in this recipe are basil, thyme and parsley. You can use any or all of these herbs. I love topping mine with some freshly chopped parsley. 
• When it comes to chopping vegetables, you preference comes first. You can have the vegetables in bigger chunks, or dice them into small chunks.