Ratatouille – A Stunning Mess

I will go ahead and be honest, I probably wouldn’t know what ratatouille was except for Remy’s inspired recipe from the Disney Pixar Ratatouille movie. A meatless dish that’s super colorful and, apparently, delicious? Sign me up! So, not long after seeing the movie (in 2007), I started researching recipes. I am not a French chef, but this homemade version is inspired by the traditional ratatouille recipe.

What is ratatouille? If you’ve seen the movie (and you should, it’s so cute!), then you know it’s described as a peasant’s stew made from summer vegetables. The vegetables really are the star of this dish, so if possible, late summer when most of these are in season is the best time to make this. However, it’s still delicious all year round and while I’ve most often made it as a main course, it could also be a great option for a lighter, vegetable side dish for a holiday meal. The colors are very Christmas-y after all.

Related: If you love the flavors of this, next try my Stuffed Bell Peppers, Bruschetta or Tomato Burrata.

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• Yellow Onion
• Garlic Cloves
• Carrot
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Tomato Sauce
• Eggplant
• Zucchini
• Yellow Squash – sometimes called summer squash
• Tomatoes
• Parsley

As you can see from the list of ingredients above, this recipe is naturally dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan friendly. However, I like to serve it alongside toasted garlic bread made with butter, so that tends to ruin this. 🙂

Directions

First, we make the tomato stew base. Finely chop the onion and carrot, and mince the garlic. Cook the onion and carrot in olive oil over medium heat until soft and the onions are just beginning to brown. Add the garlic and generously season with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute. Then add the tomato sauce and simmer. Turn off the heat and set aside until you need it.

Next, chop up the eggplant, green zucchini, yellow squash and tomatoes. The goal here is to cut the pieces into half moon, or half coin shapes and for all the pieces to be relatively uniform in size. It’s OK if the tomato slices are a little thicker, as they will cook faster, but keep the eggplant and zucchini pieces on the thin side.

In an 8×8 square casserole pan, add the tomato stew. Then layer the sliced vegetable pieces over the top. You want the pieces to be at least half submerged in the stew.

Cover the pan in aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 375°F for 45 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of baking remove the foil.

Top with chopped parsley and serve warm.

Tips & More Information

• You can chop vegetables by hand with a sharp knife or use a mandoline for keeping them uniform in thickness.
• Since the veggies are the star of this recipe, aim for the most fresh and in season ones you can find—it really will make a difference.
• If you want to add Parmesan cheese to the top of this, feel free!
• Some other additions you could try would be a little fresh basil, fresh thyme leaves or other fresh herbs, red pepper flakes or Italian seasoning.
• You can make this a day ahead by following the recipe up to the point of baking and instead cover the dish in aluminum foil and refrigerate until you are ready to bake.
• I don’t think ratatouille makes great leftovers. This is just my opinion. But if you do have leftovers, here is what I recommend. Place everything in a blender and puree, you can leave it with some vegetable chunks or puree until smooth. You can store this in the fridge for at least 3 days. Rewarm in the microwave or on the stovetop and serve as soup.

More Soup & Stew Recipes