Ratatouille is French – just in case you didn’t know! It is also a marvellous, naturally gluten-free and vegan, seasonal dish, making full use of amazing early summer vegetables such as aubergine, peppers and courgettes. The key to great ratatouille is to get the most flavour from the vegetables. In this case this is with relatively light cooking.

Two perfect accompaniments to Ratatouille are Basics – Brown Rice and Basics – Perfect Quinoa or Basics – Perfect Millet. Both would work really well as sides – millet is a little bit like mini popcorn and goes so well with any dish with a rich sauce.

If you were looking for a side salad too I can heartily recommend Endive Salad with Pears and Almonds and Fennel, Radish and Orange Salad. Both amazing on their own but a wonderful partner here.

Allergy Information – Ratatouille

Ratatouille is gluten-free and vegan as well as… low FODMAP*, celery free, coconut free, garlic free, lupin free, mustard free, onion free, peanut free, sesame free, soya free, tree nut free.

*For low FODMAP, remember that tinned tomatoes, in a serving size of around 100 grams, are permitted on a low FODMAP diet. Courgette (zucchini) is low FODMAP in servings of less than 65 grams. One serving of this Ratatouille is low FODMAP.

Top Tips – Ratatouille

Ratatouille can be frozen and keeps well in the fridge (it often tastes better a day or two later!).

Recipe – Ratatouille

Difficulty easy
Serves 4-6
Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 25 minutes

Ingredients – Ratatouille

125 millilitres olive oil
0.25 teaspoon asafoetida
2 large green peppers
2 large red peppers
1 medium aubergine
2 large courgette
400 millilitres passata (or one tin of plum tomatoes)
0.25 teaspoon sea salt flakes
0.25 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method – Ratatouille

1. Add around half of the olive oil to a large pan and place on a low heat
2. Clean, remove the seeds and pith and slice the green and red peppers into strips. Add the asafoetida to the pan and fry gently for around 30 seconds. Add the strips of green and red pepper, stir well and allow to cook for a few minutes
3. Chop the aubergine into rough two centimetre dice. Add to the pan and mix well. Add the remainder of the olive oil to the pan mix well and allow to cook for around five minutes
4. Chop the courgette into rough two centimetre dice. Add to the pan, mix well and allow to cook for a further five minutes
5. Add the passata (or tinned plum tomatoes) to the pan and mix well. Bring to a simmer and cook for at least 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper
6. Serve with brown rice and crisp green salad.