Oven Roasted Ratatouille Niçoise

Throw a tray of this classic Ratatouille Niçoise in the oven to roast while you prepare other dishes or entertain guests. I often make it for dinner parties as it has so much flavor and can almost double up as a sauce as it is so juicy and delicious.

This vegetable stew from the south of France hinges on using ripe and flavorful summer vegetables for the best results. It's bright and colorful and works as a side dish for so many things. In a fine dining environment, the ingredients would be daintily chopped small but I like a more chunky, rustic look. Make sure you have lots of basil and definitely don't scrimp on the garlic.

Jump to:

• 🛒 Ingredients
• 👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions
• Top tip
• 🍽 How to serve
• 🍷Wine Pairing
• 🥣 Equipment
• ❄️ Storage and Freezing
• ❓FAQ
• 📝 Other side dish recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🛒 Ingredients

1. Red onion - I prefer red or purple onion in ratatouille Niçoise as they have a sweeter flavor profile and work well in this traditional dish.
2. Aubergine/Eggplant - Strangely, this large, deep purple vegetable is, in fact, a berry! Its firm, spongey interior becomes soft when roasted and has a delicious, slightly smokey flavor.
3. Courgette/Zucchini—Courgettes contain a lot of water, so try to avoid the larger ones. They affect the overall texture of the ratatouille and create a lot of steam in the oven. Medium-size or baby ones are best if you have the option. Try this Italian zucchini salad if you have leftovers!
4. Cherry tomatoes - Any small variety of tomatoes will work; I sometimes use baby ripe plum tomatoes. I blanch them in boiled water to remove the skins for a better texture. Some people also stir through a tomato purée, which I don't find necessary unless you want a much more intense tomato flavor.
5. Bell peppers—I prefer to mix and match bell peppers to add more color to this easy Mediterranean side dish. So try a mix of red and yellow or green and orange, too.
6. Garlic—I like a lot of garlic in my food, and I often use elephant garlic cloves in a ratatouille Niçoise recipe because the cloves are so enormous.
7. Basil - Fresh herbs form the backbone of Provencal-style cooking
8. Extra virgin olive oil - A decent EVOO will take you a long way with Mediterranean food. It has a high smoke point (so it is safe to cook with) and makes excellent salad dressings, too. You can use sunflower oil or another oil that is safe for roasting, but for best results, use olive oil.
9. Salt and cracked black pepper

👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F or 170C/340F fan.
2. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes in a bowl or large saucepan and let them sit for 1 minute. Their skins will begin to split, so you can gently drain them and slip them off.
3. Chop the remaining vegetables into small, similar-sized pieces around the same size as the tomatoes. Finely dice the garlic.
4. Drizzle a large, deep oven tray with olive oil and season with salt and cracked black pepper. Add the chopped vegetables, with the skinned tomatoes on top. Drizzle with olive oil again, sprinkle over salt and pepper, then add half the fresh basil.
5. Roast the oven ratatouille for 1 hour, then remove and stir through another tablespoon of olive oil. Garnish with more fresh basil before serving.

🍽 How to serve

I usually serve Ratatouille Niçoise as a side dish with a roast leg of lamb or simple baked salmon. But I always make plenty so that I can stir any leftover ratatouille through some pasta and tear up some mozzarella to serve on top with extra fresh basil. Some people will serve ratatouille as a main course, with a salad and mashed potato or rice.

For more French flavors from Nice and the surrounding area, try my classic salad Nicoise with tuna and orzo.

🍷Wine Pairing

As this dish is from Nice in the south of France (Niçoise means 'in the style of Nice) then wines from that area will always work well. If you are serving it with white meat or fish, perhaps a Grenache Rose from Provence. If you are serving it with red meats like a lamb rump roast, a Syrah or GSM. Read more of my simple food and wine pairing tips here!

🥣 Equipment

Use a large oven tray with relatively deep sides, as the vegetables can release water and you don't want this to overflow into your oven.

❄️ Storage and Freezing

Store ratatouille Niçoise in an airtight container in the fridge and finish it within 3-4 days. It reheats well, so it is handy to make in advance. Simply reheat on the stovetop in a small saucepan, in the oven, or microwave.

You can also easily freeze Ratatouille Niçoise. Place it in an airtight container and cover the surface with plastic food wrap. Defrost thoroughly before eating and use within one month.

❓FAQ

📝 Other side dish recipes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

📖 Recipe