Ratatouille with White Beans & Parsley Pistou
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Total: 30 mins
A classic French veggie stew brimming with hearty hunks of aubergine and courgette, to which we’ve added soft white cannellini beans and a flavoursome homemade pistou (the Provençal answer to pesto) made with toasted breadcrumbs, parsley and garlic.
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413 kcal
(per portion)
Ingredients you'll need
  • 1 onion
  • 1 courgette
  • 1 aubergine
  • 1 red pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 400g tin of cannellini beans
  • 400g tinned cherry tomatoes
  • 50g breadcrumbs
  • A large handful of flat leaf parsley
From your kitchen
  • 1½ tbsp olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • 4 tbsp cold water
You'll need
  • Medium pan
  • Frying pan
Step by step this way
  • 1.

    Peel and finely chop the onion. Warm a medium pan over a medium heat for 1 min, then add ½ tbsp olive oil and the onion. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry for 5 mins, stirring every so often, till the onion starts to soften.

  • 2.

    While the onion fries, trim the ends off the courgette and aubergine and dice them both. Halve the red pepper, scoop out the seeds and white pith, and finely chop it.

  • 3.

    Stir the chopped veg into the onion and season with a pinch more salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every so often, for 5 mins till the veg have started to soften and look glossy.

  • 4.

    While the veg fry, peel and crush 2 of the garlic cloves. Drain the cannellini beans and rinse them under cold water.

  • 5.

    Stir the garlic into the veg and cook and stir for 1 min. Tip in the cannellini beans and add the tinned cherry tomatoes. Give everything a good stir to mix, then pop on a lid (or use a baking tray if you don’t have a lid) and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 15 mins, stirring every so often, till the ratatouille has thickened and little and the veg are tender.

  • 6.

    While the ratatouille simmers, make the pistou. Place a dry frying pan on a medium-low heat and tip in the breadcrumbs. Toast, stirring, for 2 mins till golden. Tip the toasted breadcrumbs into a mixing bowl.

  • 7.

    Peel and crush or finely grate the remaining 2 garlic cloves and add them to the breadcrumbs. Place the parsley, leaves and stalks, on a chopping board and chop as finely as you can. Add the parsley to the breadcrumbs and stir in 1 tbsp olive oil, 4 tbsp water and a pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

  • 8.

    Taste the ratatouille and adjust the seasoning if needed. Ladle the into a couple of warm bowls and top with the pistou to serve.

  • Tip

    Starting pistou
    If you don’t eat all of your pistou with the ratatouille, you can keep it in a bowl in the fridge for 1-2 days. Try roasting fresh tomatoes and dressing them with the pistou for a warm salad, or tossing it with cooked pasta for a quick and easy dinner.

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