French Ratatouille with Roasted Vegetables
In real ratatouille each vegetable is cooked on its own first and only then combined. Cooking them together from the start makes everything release its water and collapse — and the result is watery boiled vegetables, not ratatouille with pieces that hold their shape and colour.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 55 min
- Total
- 90 min
- Calories
- 210
Ratatouille is a vegetable dish from the south of France, entirely vegetarian and cheap. What separates it from any ordinary vegetable bake is one principle, followed to the letter.
Method
-
1
Salt the aubergine
Cube the aubergine, salt it and leave it in a sieve for 30 minutes, then rinse and dry it. Salting draws out the water and bitterness and cuts the oil it absorbs.
⏱ 33 min -
2
Tomato sauce
Brown one onion and three garlic cloves in olive oil, add the grated tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay and cook for 20 minutes until thick and the oil separates.
⏱ 24 min -
3
Aubergine alone
In a wide pan over high heat, brown the aubergine in olive oil for 8 minutes until coloured all over, then set it aside.
⏱ 9 min -
4
Courgette alone
In the same pan brown the courgette for just 5 minutes over high heat. Courgette cooks far faster than aubergine and collapses if cooked with it.
⏱ 6 min -
5
Peppers and onion
Brown the peppers and the second onion for 7 minutes until softened and caught at the edges, adding the rest of the garlic in the last minute.
⏱ 8 min -
6
Assemble
Spread the tomato sauce in the base of an oven dish, arrange the browned vegetables over it, and scatter the herbes de Provence and the remaining olive oil.
⏱ 8 min -
7
Slow bake
Bake at 160°C for 30 minutes, uncovered. The gentle heat merges the flavours without collapsing the vegetables. Scatter fresh basil after it comes out.
⏱ 33 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Each vegetable browned on its own — the one rule that separates ratatouille from any bake.
- Salt the aubergine for half an hour — it halves the oil it absorbs.
- Uncovered in the oven, not covered — a lid traps steam and collapses the vegetables.
- It improves on the second day, and is eaten hot or at room temperature.
People also ask
Why do my vegetables collapse?
You cooked them all together. Each vegetable has a different cooking time — brown each one separately over high heat, then combine and bake for just 30 minutes at a gentle temperature.
Why does the aubergine soak up so much oil?
Because it is spongy. Salt it and leave it 30 minutes in a sieve to release its water and firm up, then rinse and dry it — after that it absorbs half as much or less.
Can I use an air fryer?
Yes for the first stage: brown each vegetable separately at 190°C (10 minutes for aubergine, 8 for courgette and peppers) with a little oil. Then combine them in a conventional oven.
Cook mode
French Ratatouille with Roasted Vegetables
-
1
Salt the aubergine
Cube the aubergine, salt it and leave it in a sieve for 30 minutes, then rinse and dry it. Salting draws out the water and bitterness and cuts the oil it absorbs.
-
2
Tomato sauce
Brown one onion and three garlic cloves in olive oil, add the grated tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay and cook for 20 minutes until thick and the oil separates.
-
3
Aubergine alone
In a wide pan over high heat, brown the aubergine in olive oil for 8 minutes until coloured all over, then set it aside.
-
4
Courgette alone
In the same pan brown the courgette for just 5 minutes over high heat. Courgette cooks far faster than aubergine and collapses if cooked with it.
-
5
Peppers and onion
Brown the peppers and the second onion for 7 minutes until softened and caught at the edges, adding the rest of the garlic in the last minute.
-
6
Assemble
Spread the tomato sauce in the base of an oven dish, arrange the browned vegetables over it, and scatter the herbes de Provence and the remaining olive oil.
-
7
Slow bake
Bake at 160°C for 30 minutes, uncovered. The gentle heat merges the flavours without collapsing the vegetables. Scatter fresh basil after it comes out.
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