Ratatouille Ratatouille

Ratatouille

  • 1 hour preparation time
  • 1 hour 30 mins cooking time
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The colours! The pattern! The flavours! This, cook, is your symphony of traditional flavours and bright colours paired in a timeless, easy, buttery ratatouille recipe. Revel in the richness of seasonal vegetables and hearty tomato sauce flavoured with herbs and garlic. A rustic and simple staple of French cuisine.
The colours! The pattern! The flavours! This, cook, is your symphony of traditional flavours and bright colours paired in a timeless, easy, buttery ratatouille recipe. Revel in the richness of seasonal vegetables and hearty tomato sauce flavoured with herbs and garlic. A rustic and simple staple of French cuisine.
Cook mode

Method

1
Start by making the tomato sauce. Chop the onion and garlic and sauté in butter in a saucepan with thyme. Add tomato paste and mix well, then add the canned tomato and honey, and mix well. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
TIP
In our butter ratatouille recipe, it is no secret that butter plays an important role. To get the most out of its flavour, take care not to burn it by leaving it for too long to brown or by melting it over too high a heat. When sautéing onions and garlic for the tomato ratatouille sauce, cook them gently until soft and translucent, being careful with the heat. If it is too high, the butter might burn, giving the sauce a bitter taste. If done correctly, the butter will help bring out the sweet flavour of the onions.
2
While the sauce is simmering, prepare the vegetables. Peel the red onions and cut all the vegetables into disc-shaped slices about half a centimetre thick.
3
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/gas mark 6.
4
Pour the tomato sauce into an oven-proof pan about 30 centimetres in diameter and place the sliced vegetables in a spiral circle pattern, starting at the outer edge, and working your way into the middle. Make sure to alternate the vegetables and make sure that the slices overlap.
5
Brush the top with melted butter, then sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped thyme. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
TIP
The same goes for melting the butter to brush on top of the vegetables before baking. This step makes this butter ratatouille truly stand out, helps keep the dish moist in the oven, enriches the flavour of the vegetables and adds a glossy finish. Melt the butter carefully in a small pan, watching closely to ensure it does not burn.
6
Serve right away topped with fresh basil.
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Questions about ratatouille

Curious to know more about this popular French dish? Then keep reading to find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about ratatouille.

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Serve traditional butter ratatouille with fresh, flavourful ingredients

Traditional recipes are timeless, and there is a reason for this. They endure through time because they offer comfort in all their simplicity and universality. And our traditional butter ratatouille recipe is no different. It carries traditions from one generation to the next. Using any in-season vegetables or maybe even the cook's favourite vegetables, it evokes fond memories and nostalgia for family dinners in every family and cook.

The trick, as always, cook, is to use the freshest ingredients to get the most flavour. Fresh vegetables will hold their shape better, infuse the dish with maximum delicious flavour and give the brightest of colours. They will create a dish bursting with flavours, colours and, of course, a delicious texture of thinly sliced, perfectly cooked, fresh vegetables and smooth velvety tomato sauce.

Greatness comes with butter in even the simplest of recipes

Ratatouille is widely associated with the countryside and farmers' cuisine because of its roots in the countryside regions of Southern France with its rustic charm and fresh, seasonal produce. But the most simple and rustic recipe rooted in farmers’ traditions is made even better with the addition of another simple yet delicious ingredient: butter. Butter ratatouille is the perfect example of creating greatness from a few simple ingredients, taking an easy dish with few ingredients and making it so much more. Brush with melted butter, bake and watch the butter transform the dish into something special.

Layered in bright colours on a bed of vibrant red, savoury tomato sauce, and brushed with butter, this butter ratatouille recipe is a testament to a timeless classic known for delicious flavours wrapped in heartwarming simplicity.

Savoury vegetable ratatouille with butter and tomato sauce

Our butter ratatouille has everything you need for dinner. It is savoury, packed with colourful vegetables and baked in homemade tomato sauce with herbs, onion and garlic. Each vegetable adds something extra, something filled with flavour, giving you a balanced and complex dish. By brushing with melted butter before baking, you add a shiny touch as well as extra flavour, and it keeps the dish warm, giving you a butter ratatouille that is better than what you might have tasted before. And with its colours and different flavours, especially from the classic tomato sauce, it will be a hit with the whole family.

How to serve ratatouille for dinner

The easy way to serve this French classic is as a standalone dish. It is more than capable of carrying a meal by itself with its savoury tomato sauce and various vegetables. If you prefer something on the side, you can serve it with crusty bread such as wholemeal bread or sourdough bread, both of which have a lot of flavour and texture. Or you can serve it on top of rice or pasta or with grilled meat or fish on the side. Everything that benefits from a tasty, buttery, tomato-infused layer of goodness will be delicious with this ratatouille recipe.

Why not serve the butter ratatouille with our buttery pan-fried sea bass? It is a classic pairing, as the natural sweetness of the fish harmoniously matches the savoury ratatouille, especially its tomato sauce. Here is another idea: serve it on top of pasta. Try our sage and butter pasta, which will create the perfect base. Top the pasta dish with a generous serving of ratatouille, letting the tomato sauce and savoury vegetables soak into the pasta's butter and parmesan cheese base.

Add your own touch to this traditional French dish

As delicious as it is in its simplicity, you can always shake things up and do something new with our ratatouille recipe. You can consider adding other vegetables such as sliced mushrooms for a touch of umami flavour, spinach for a touch of green, and even, for a sweet touch, thinly sliced sweet potato.

Chickpeas or white beans are also delicious mixed with tomato sauce. And, for a bit of heat, consider adding fresh or dried chilli, smoked paprika or red pepper flakes. To balance it out and add a salty touch, crumble some feta cheese, salad cheese or goat cheese on top before baking.

Where to buy

Lurpak® Salted Cultured Butter

Salted Cultured Butter

With Lurpak® by your side you’re always ready to cook, bake and fry up wonders, cook. With its delicate taste, Lurpak® Salted Butter enhances the flavour of whatever food you add it to. From a hearty pasta dish, your showstopper fruit pie, to some simple rustic crushed potatoes, its subtle notes complement every creation you rustle up in the kitchen. For people who love Good Food, Lurpak® makes it even better. Now sleeves up. Today we cook bold.

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