Thermomix® ratatouille is the one summer dish we cook in big batches on purpose. Not because it is quick, but because four 250 ml jars of it are worth their weight in gold come autumn and winter. Properly preserved, it keeps for up to a year.
The Thermomix® handles all the temperature work here: 15 minutes at 100°C for the tomato and pepper base, then 20 minutes for the courgette and aubergine. No stirring, no splashing, no burning. We use the cooking time to prepare the jars so everything can be filled straight away.
Thermomix® Ratatouille
Ingredients 0 / 14 ✓
- 1 eggplant large
- 2 tsp salt
- 150 grams red onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 30 grams olive oil
- 350 grams tomatoes
- 300 grams red bell pepper
- 3 sprigs rosemary
- 1/2 sprig thyme
- 1/2 tsp chili powder mild
- 10 grams balsamic vinegar
- 2 pinch pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 250 grams zucchini
Instructions 0 / 7
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1
Wash eggplant, remove stalk, cut in half lengthwise and cut into slices about 0.5 cm thick. Place eggplant slices in cooking basket in a bowl and sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp. salt.
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2
Peel and halve the onions and add to the mixing bowl. Peel the garlic, add to the mixing bowl, mince for 4 sec./speed 5 and push down with the spatula.
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3
Add olive oil and sauté for 4 min./VAROMA (TM5 120°)/LEFTROTATION/SANFTREHRSTUFE.
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4
Meanwhile, wash tomatoes and peppers and cut into pieces about 3 cm.
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5
Pluck rosemary and thyme into the mixing bowl. Add tomato pieces, bell pepper pieces, 1 tsp. salt, chili powder, vinegar, pepper and sugar and cook for 15 min./100°/LEFTROTATION/SANFTREHRSTUFE.
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6
Meanwhile, wash and dice zucchini. Rinse eggplant in cooking basket with cold water and dice. Then add to the mixing bowl and cook for 20 min. /100°/LEFTROTATION/SANFTRÜHRSTUFE.
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7
Provide sterilized jars and lids and immediately pour in the ratatouille to 2 cm below the rim. Close the lid and put the jar on the lid for 5 minutes.
Tip:
- When opening the jar, it is important that you hear the 'pop' sound!
- The serving amount for this recipe is enough for about four 250 ml canning jars.
Nutrition per serving
Salt the aubergine first
This is the step you nearly skip the first time round. We did too. The result: mushy aubergine that dissolves into the finished ratatouille instead of keeping its bite.
Cut the aubergine into slices roughly 0.5 cm thick, place them in a bowl and sprinkle evenly with 1 tsp of salt. Then wait at least 20 minutes. The salt draws water out of the flesh and firms it up. Rinse with cold water before dicing so the ratatouille does not turn out too salty. This step works perfectly while the onions and garlic are softening in the mixing bowl.
The second point: the aubergine only goes into the mixing bowl in the last step, together with the courgette. Both need just 20 minutes at 100°C on reverse blade direction at the gentle stir setting. Add them earlier and you risk a mush.
Why preserving makes the difference
Many ratatouille recipes end with “store in the fridge”. We go one step further. The finished ratatouille goes straight into sterilised preserving jars while it is still boiling hot. Put the lid on, then stand the jar upside down for 5 minutes. When you open it, it should pop. If it pops, the vacuum is intact and the jar will keep for up to a year in a cool, dark place.
The recipe makes four jars of 250 ml each. When preserving, we always do at least three batches at once because the effort for just one is too great. To sterilise the jars: rinse them briefly with boiling water and leave them to dry upside down on a clean tea towel. Do not wipe the inside with the towel.
Salt the aubergine first, then add it to cook
Balsamic vinegar instead of wine vinegar. Just 10 g, but it makes all the difference. The balsamic adds a gentle sweetness and rounds off the acidity of the tomatoes. Wine vinegar does the same job but more sharply, which does not suit ratatouille.
Pull fresh herbs straight into the mixing bowl. Rosemary and thyme go in after the onions have been sautéed, without the stalks. This way they release their flavour directly into the hot sauce and you do not need to fish them out at the end.
Red onions instead of yellow. Sauté 150 g of red onions with 30 g of olive oil at Varoma temperature (TM5: 120°C) on reverse blade direction at the gentle stir setting. Red onions mellow as they cook and give off a slight sweetness that suits the summer vegetables much better.
What goes well with ratatouille
The simplest option is baguette: spread the ratatouille on top or serve it as a warm sauce alongside. We also use it as a quick pasta base: open a jar, warm it through, toss with 200 g of penne and it is ready. Or as a side dish with meat when we cannot be bothered with a salad.
If you are serving ratatouille at a barbecue, we have more ideas for you: Tomato Recipes from the Thermomix® shows how versatile fresh tomatoes can be in summer. And anyone who wants to preserve more dishes in general will find another classic from the preserving kitchen in Eggs in a Jar from the Thermomix®.
Preserved for a year, fresh for a week
Preserved jars: keep for up to a year in a cool, dark place. Opened jar: up to 5 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Ratatouille that has not been preserved keeps in the fridge for about 3 days. Freezing works, but the aubergine loses a little of its bite when thawed. If you do freeze it, cook it slightly less than usual so the texture holds up better after thawing.
Tip: if you eat the ratatouille the next day rather than preserving it, you will notice a real difference. Overnight in the fridge, the flavours soak deeper into the vegetables. It is well worth the wait.
How other recipes do it differently
Goes well with: Baguette and pasta.
Goes well with: Salad dressing to keep (Thermomix®, keeps for 3 weeks).
Looking at other versions, you notice that many ratatouille recipes call for a brine pre-treatment of twelve hours plus a vinegar liquor with bay leaves and pickling spices. This makes the vegetables soft and takes away their natural flavour. Others roast the aubergine, courgette and peppers for 40 minutes at 180°C in the oven and then preserve them for 30 minutes at 90°C in a water bath canner. We stick with the Thermomix® method in one pass: a quick sauté, then braise with tomatoes and herbs such as thyme and rosemary, fill hot into sterilised jars and stand them on their lids. This keeps the bite, the colour and the summer flavour intact, and the jars last for several months in the fridge.
