I told you I wasn’t stopping with the summer veggies!!! This recipe is basically a summer produce extravaganza. Tell me, have you ever had ratatouille before?!
I first discovered it when I was a graduate student at Drexel. We were required to take a couple culinary classes during our program and, to no one’s surprise, I LOVED them! The chef who taught our class was seriously the bomb.com and I learned so much in those 4-hour cooking sessions.
One of the first recipes that we made was a traditional French ratatouille. I distinctly remember chopping tons of fresh produce–zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant–and simmering everything on the stovetop in a drafty fourth floor kitchen. Most importantly, we learned how to make a “chiffonade” with fresh basil, and man, did I feel like I was on Top Chef!!!!
As a result of cooking up fresh ratatouille for a professional chef, I learned a thing or two about making a good one. First, you need SUPER fresh ingredients (like farmers market fresh…hence the name). Second, you have to cook/simmer everything for at least 30 minutes.
So no, this Farmers Market One Pan Ratatouille is not a super fast recipe, but believe me, it’s worth the wait!
Probably the best way to describe ratatouille is to compare it to a stew. Essentially you “stew” the vegetables until they get tender and flavorful. Then you mix in some fresh basil, salt, and pepper…and DANG that’s good!
Even though it takes a little while for the “stewing” to happen, you don’t really do anything during that time except give it all a little stir every once in a while. Pretty good deal, huh?
Oh, and the best part? You only need one pan! I took photos of this recipe in my cast iron skillet (as you can see), but to be honest, I actually cooked it in the biggest skillet I had before I transferred it for the photo shoot. There is a whole LOT of produce before you simmer it down.
One Pan Ratatouille
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion - diced
- 1 green bell pepper - diced
- 6 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- 3 tomatoes - vine ripened, diced
- 1 eggplant - diced
- 1 zucchini - diced
- 1 summer squash - diced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano - chopped
- ¼ cup fresh basil - loosely packed, chiffonade
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and pepper and saute for about 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Next, add the garlic and diced tomatoes and cook for approximately 5 minutes before adding the eggplant, zucchini, and summer squash.
- Stir in the salt, pepper and oregano and reduce the heat to low. Cook the stew over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the vegetables reach your desired tenderness. Add the chopped basil, and more salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy warm or cold!
Nutrition
Ok, now let’s get cooking!
If you’re loving on summer veggies like I am, check out some of my latest recipes:
- Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce with Fresh Herbs
- Farmers Market Crunchy Cabbage Slaw
- 10 Minute Cast Iron Blistered Shishito Peppers
- Zucchini Carrot Oat Muffins
Happy stewing!
Lizzie
Jessica Canva
Looks really fresh & yummy…Great for health as well…added to my recipe book
Lizzie
Hi Jessica, Yay! I’m glad you think so, and I hope you love the recipe!