One-Pot Ratatouille Stew Recipe [+VIDEO] 🍲 MasalaHerb.com (2024)

Ratatouille is a French vegetable stew prepared with zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes.

This my families french recipe prepared in one pot.

📕 What is ratatouille?

Ratatouille is a traditional coarse vegetable stew from the Provence in south France.

It's commonly prepared during the zucchini and eggplant harvest season in the summer.

The stew is a staple in most French homes all over the country and variations may exist.

Most people prepare this vegan dinner meal in one pot because it's easier that way.

However, the original recipe recommends to sautee each vegetable, one at a time, before everything is combined at the end in a pot.

The Disney movie Ratatouille introduced the dish to the rest of the world by roasting it in the oven. However, this is not commonplace in France.

In my opinion, a ratatouille tastes so great because the ingredients get to stew all together with fresh herbs in olive oil in one pot. That's where the magic happens!

It's also a poor men's food a so-called peasants dish. And believe me, a really good one on top of that!

🔪 How to make it?

There is nothing easier then making ratatouille at home.

This is a great dish for you if you are learning to cook, or if you want a foolproof delicious healthier dinner meal.

The fact that it is vegan is just a small accidental plus point.

I have broken down 3 basic steps on how to make this dish from scratch. The ingredients and step details are located at the bottom of this recipe.

Step 1

Prepare your fresh vegetables. Rinse, peel, cut into chunks.

Step 2

Saute onion, garlic and vegetables.

Season and pour in stock.

Step 3

Cook ratatouille until vegetables or soft or for as long as needed or until you are satisfied with the consistency.

🧅 What ingredients can you add to a ratatouille?

A ratatouille always includes an onion, olive oil and garlic.

The 3 main vegetables in a ratatouille are zucchinis, tomatoes and eggplants.

You need to have at least these 6 ingredients to call it a ratatouille.

You can also add the following ingredients to your stew:

• bell Peppers - green, yellow or red
• other Squash varieties such as yellow or butternut squash
• turnips
• olives
• potatoes
• lard or sausages (non vegan) - adds a lot of flavors

We always add bell peppers but usually yellow ones to add colors to the dish.

We also love the addition of turnips. It's common in North France but not in South France.

We don't add olives to our recipe but my aunty from south France always adds black olives to her ratatouille.

Seasoning

Salt and black pepper are a must in your ratatouille but not the only ingredients that make this dish so amazing!

We have already established that garlic is a must in this provencal stew!

Add a bay leave or two for a classic soup-like touch. The flavors will work well together.

Herb de Provence is your secret ingredient (if you want to call it that way). It's a blend of dried herbs, which also includes thyme, rosemary and oregano.

For more flavor complexity add the following in small quantities:

• a few basil leaves fresh
• marjoram or oregano
• loveage (my secret tip!) aka maggie herb, a few leaves fresh or dried
• allspice (3-5 pieces)
• juniper berries (about 3)
• thyme fresh

🥣 Serving Suggestions

We enjoy ratatouille as a main dish.

I love a homemade ratatouille stew served hot with cooked plain rice or with aromatic clove rice.

The Mediterranean vegetable stew combines also really well with North African couscous, Italian polenta or southern grits.

It's also lovely with a crunchy crusty bread, such as a baguette.

Or garlic butter bread! YUM!

You can choose to serve up your ratatouille with cooked fish or meat as a side dish too.

You can also choose to serve your ratatouille cold. This is especially popular during hot summer days.

🍱 Storing

Ratatouille leftovers can be easily stored in a container for another day.

Keep it in the fridge for a few days and warm it up again or serve it cold.

Store it in the freezer in batches for a later date. You can keep it for up to 2-3 months in your freezer.

To defrost your ratatouille, just place it in a pot and warm it up again. Stir occasionally so nothing burns on.

You can reheat the vegetable stew in a microwave in a microwave save dish.

💭 FAQs

👁️ More Eggplant Recipes

• Moussaka Stew
• Persian Eggplant Stew by linsfood.com
• Eggplant Rollatini by thatskinnychickcanbake.com

📖 Recipe