30-min One-pot Ratatouille (Naturally Vegan)
This one-pot ratatouille is how the classic French Provencal stew is cooked. It is ready in 30 minutes, full of colorful veggies, and is naturally vegan.
Servings 2 servings
Calories 215kcal
Ingredients
- 3 Tomatoes (large)
- 1 Onion (large)
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Bell pepper (red, yellow, green)
- 1 Eggplant (medium)
- 1 Zucchini / Courgette (small)
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Fresh basil to taste
- Fresh thyme to taste
Instructions
Preparing the ingredients
- Peel and chop onion and garlic.
- Wash and chop zucchini/yellow squash and eggplants. Cut them into 1-inch (1-1,5 cm) thick slices and then cut the "discs" into quarters. No need to peel them.
- Wash and cut tomatoes first into wedges, then cut them in half or in third. You need to end up with pieces in the size of an inch (1-1,5 cm) cubes.
- Wash and slice bell peppers. First cut them in half, and remove the seeds and the stem. Lay it on the cutting board and slice vertical stripes. Now, cut the stripes in half horizontally so you have 2-3 inch long (3-4 cm) stripes.
Cooking ratatouille in one pot
- Heat your stockpot or a Dutch oven to medium heat and add olive oil.
- Cook the chopped onion, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic, stir and cook for a minute.
- Add chopped tomatoes, bell peppers, salt, and pepper. Start with 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper, and adjust at the end. Cover it with a lid and cook it on medium heat until it is boiling. Remove lid, stir and cook for 6-8 minutes until the tomatoes are mushy and there are juices.
- Finally, add the chopped zucchini and eggplant. Stir and cook until they are tender, not mushy. The zucchini should be a bit crunchy to bite on. The eggplant should be soft and not crunchy at all. The juices should be evaporated mostly and it should get a stew-like consistency. It takes us about 10 minutes to get this texture in our Dutch oven.
- Stir in some freshly chopped basil or thyme and you are ready to serve. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Juicy tomatoes -> You should use juicy, soft, mature tomatoes. They are the ones that are so ripe that they fall apart quickly and form the base of the stew easily. If you have hard, unripe veggies or cocktail tomatoes (that are more skin than flesh), then it will take longer to cook them or even you will not be able to produce the juices needed to make ratatouille.
- Fresh tomatoes vs canned chopped tomatoes -> The traditional way is to use fresh, juicy, ripe tomatoes, but we do understand that it is not always possible to get hold of those. You can use chopped canned tomatoes (not tomato sauce or tomato paste) so you have a bit of chunky texture.
- Cut all veggies in the size of 1-2 inch cubes -> The smaller you cut them, the shorter will be the cooking time.
- Use the lid -> Covering your pot with a lid ensures that the juices are kept in the stew as well as it maintains a hot temperature to cook the chopped vegetables faster.
- Read our Cooking with Eggplants Guide if you need more tips and hacks on choosing, storing, and preparing eggplants.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 27mg | Potassium: 1447mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 3650IU | Vitamin C: 130mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 2mg