I made this Summer Ratatouille on a whim for J and his family when I was in Tuscany last week guys. You know when you have veggies in the fridge you simply need to use up, you throw them ALL in a pan and you end up creating a brand new beautiful meal you’ve never made before?!
Well that is precisely what happened with this Summer Ratatouille. We were in Italy, it was hot, we were hungry and had some eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes left in the fridge. We had BBQ‘d the last few nights before so I wanted to make something different for everyone. I threw all the veggies we had in the pan with some fresh basil and after some serious simmering, this delicious Summer Ratatouille came to be!
I served this Summer Ratatouille over fresh pasta in Italy and over potatoes in Belgium when I made it here again this week. It tastes amazing both ways. I have a hunch that it would taste equally awesome over quinoa or rice as well. YUM.
And just to note, if you are ‘scared’ to cook with eggplant (I don’t know why so many people I talk to are or why I used to be, lol?!). It adds so much substance to this Summer Ratatouille, making it incredibly thick, hearty and flavorful. I would not leave it out. I know some people swear by pre-salting their eggplant, adding one extra step to the cooking process, but I never bother. I cook the eggplant with the sauteed onions and garlic with a pinch of sea salt for a couple of minutes which seems to always do the trick before adding the other vegetables to the pan.
This Summer Ratatouille is one of those comforting, summertime meals that is so incredibly versatile and foolproof. Toss all your chopped veggies in a pan with some fresh herbs, simmer and voila! Your meal is served.
If you whip this Summer Ratatouille up in your kitchen, I love love love hearing your feedback you guys. Let me know how your creations turn out by sharing your feedback in the comments below, tagging me (@cearaskitchen) in your gorgeous shots on Instagram or sharing your photo on my Ceara’s Kitchen Facebook page. Wishing you a wonderful day everyone! #EatHappyLiveHappy
- ½ cup low sodium vegetable broth
- 4-5 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 medium white onions, chopped
- 2 large eggplants, chopped into ½ inch (1 cm) cubes
- 3 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup peas (frozen or fresh)
- 8 roma tomatoes, chopped
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
- ⅓ cup fresh basil, chopped
- ½ tsp paprika
- pinch hot pepper flakes
- sea salt and white pepper to taste
- Vegan Parmesan
- Fresh Basil
- Over medium-high heat, in a large (and deep) pan, saute diced garlic and chopped white onions in a few splashes of vegetable broth for a couple of minutes until lightly cooked.
- Add chopped eggplant and a pinch of sea salt. Stir and leave to simmer for a couple of minutes. Add a splash of vegetable broth if the eggplant is sticking to the pan.
- Add the chopped zucchini, yellow and red bell pepper as well as peas and chopped tomatoes. Stir. Add a couple splashes of vegetable broth while cooking if the vegetables begin to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add chopped fresh rosemary and basil, paprika and pinch of hot pepper flakes. Stir, turn down to a medium-low heat and leave the vegetable to simmer until lightly cooked. If there is too much water in the pan from the tomatoes, remove the cover and allow some of the water to evaporate while simmering and stirring every so often.
- Cook for 20 - 25 minutes until the vegetables are well cooked and a thick, stew-like ratatouille is formed. Garnish with vegan parmesan (optional) and fresh basil. Serve over rice, potatoes or pasta.
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I can’t keep up with all your awesome posts Ceara lol! This is gorgeous! Love all the beautiful colors and fresh veggies! What a perfect, healthy summer dish! I’m in love with it and I love that you added fresh basil! Gorgeous!
Thanks, Brandi!! 🙂
One of my fav summer meals!!
This dish looks ah-mah-zing!! Love the spice and veggie mix, can’t wait to try this!
look at all those veggies, looks so good Ceara! 🙂
I am in love with this dish! Eggplant is amazing! I know people either love it or hate it, but I LOVE it! I don’t salt it first either unless I’m making a breaded eggplant dish…the salt draws out the water as it sits so when you add the breading it doesn’t get soggy. But in this dish, totally no need to! I have nearly all of these veggies in my garden. Can’t wait to try!
Yay! So happy to hear you are an eggplant fan, Jenn! 🙂 You totally don’t need to pre-salt the egggplant in this dish but I hear you – when breading eggplant the pre-salting is necessary! Now I’m craving eggplant parm, LOL! <3
I always find that the meals that use up leftovers are the best kind of meals. I am loving all the colours in this.
<3 I couldn't agree more! Meals that use up leftovers are the best! Thanks, Danni!!
I love those clean out the fridge meals, often they’re just as good as the meticulously thought out meals 🙂 Looks delicious, Ceara!
mm Yum! I love ratatouille. I’ve never added peas before though but I really should since my boys have a weird obsession with them. Looks so yummy! Can’t wait to eat it with some couscous 🙂 Yummm-o!
The peas are such a fun addition to this ratatouille – they are on ofe my favorite Spring veggies as well! I LOVE the idea of eating this with couscous as well, YUM!!