15 Minute Ratatouille with Gary Barlow

15 Minute Ratatouille with Gary Barlow

We made this one with Gary Barlow and honestly it's one of those recipes we keep coming back to again and again. It's a proper French classic but done fast, which is kind of our whole thing. You get these gorgeous smoky, charred aubergine and courgette slices with rich tomato flavours all coming together in just 15 minutes. It's the kind of dinner that feels a bit special but requires almost zero effort, and we genuinely love that about it. Make it tonight, you will not regret it.

Cook: 15 min
Serves 2

Before You Start

  • Griddle pan
  • Mixing bowl
  • Frying pan
  • Ladle
  • Cocktail sticks (x4 per rose)

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ½ aubergine finely sliced
  • 1 courgette finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp olive oil for frying
  • 1 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 handful of basil leaves small
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ½ red onion minced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes good quality
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • ½ dried thyme
  • 2 tbsp mixed seeds
  • 2 tsp balsamic glaze
  • 1 handful of garden peas
  • 1 small bag of mixed salad
  • 1 pouch of microwavable lentils

Method

1

Cooking the aubergine and courgette

  • Put the aubergine and courgette slices into a mixing bowl, drizzle over olive oil, season with salt and pepper and mix the slices together so they’re well covered
  • Heat up the griddle pan so it’s nice and hot and carefully lay the slices of aubergine and courgette on it, griddle them for 2-4 minutes on each side to ensure you have nice, defined lines (you will need to do this in stages)
  • Place the griddled slices of vegetables on a plate and leave them to cool down
2

For the sauce

  • Put a frying pan on the stove, heat up the olive oil, pour in the onion and fry it until it’s translucent (roughly 3-4 minutes)
  • Add the garlic to the pan and fry it until you’ve released the aromas
  • Add the tomato puree and dried thyme to the pan and stir everything together so the onions and garlic take on the colour of the tomato puree. Season the tomato sauce with salt and pepper
  • Pour the chopped tomatoes into the pan and stir them into the onions, turn the heat of the stove down so the tomatoes are simmering gently
  • Rip the basil leaves into the tomato sauce and stir them round
3

Creating the vegetable rose

  • Go to the plate of griddled vegetables, neatly place the slices on top of each other, making sure there’s a short lip popping out from the bottom of every slice. These lips should create a step effect.
  • Roll the vegetables up into a rose shape, put the ‘rose’ on its side and pierce it with 4 cocktail sticks to help it keep its structure
4

For the lentils

  • Put the pouch of puy lentils and bowl of garden peas in the microwave and cook them according to the packets
  • Take the lentils and peas out of the microwave, pour the lentils into the bowl containing the peas and fold them together
5

Time to serve

  • Transfer half the lentils and peas into the centre of your tupperware boxes
  • Use a ladle to pour the tomato sauce all the way around the edges of the puy lentils
  • Place the ratatouille roses into the centre of the boxes, neatly sprinkle salad leaves and mixed seeds around the roses and garnish with a touch of balsamic glaze
  • Put the lids on the boxes and place them in the fridge

Tips & Variations

  • Get the heat right: Make sure your griddle pan is genuinely hot before you add the veg. If it's not hot enough you'll steam them instead of char them, and that's where all the magic lives.
  • Season as you go: We always season the veg before griddling and then taste again at the end. Aubergine and courgette love salt, don't be shy with it.
  • Make it your own: This is brilliant served over crusty bread, with pasta, or even just a big bowl of rice. Ian loves it with a spoonful of vegan yoghurt on top, which sounds weird but trust us on this one.

Why This Works

The trick here is getting your griddle pan properly hot before anything goes near it. That's what gives you those defined charred lines and that deep, smoky flavour that makes this feel way more than the sum of its parts. Don't rush the griddling, even if it means doing it in stages, it's worth it every single time.