Ratatouille Soup

Ratatouille Soup

This is one of those recipes we keep coming back to, especially when the fridge is full of summer veg and we want something that feels a bit special without loads of effort. It's basically a classic ratatouille, but blitzed into the most gorgeous, deeply flavoured soup you can imagine. Roasting the aubergine, courgette and peppers first is the move, it brings out this incredible sweetness and a slight smokiness that you just don't get any other way. The sun dried tomatoes and fresh tomatoes layer up to give it real richness and depth. Honestly, make this tonight, you won't regret it.

Cook: 45 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 200°C
  • Large baking sheet
  • Large stockpot
  • Microplane or box grater

Ingredients

  • 2 aubergines
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil - from the jar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs
  • 3 banana shallots
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 400g cherry tomatoes
  • 400g Passata
  • 400ml low-sodium vegetable stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 100g spinach
  • 10g basil leaves
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 courgettes
  • 2 sun-dried tomatoes
  • sourdough
  • hummus & plant-based pesto

Method

1

First, prep your roast veggies

  • Trim the aubergines and courgettes and cut into bite sized chunks
  • Halve, trim, core and cut the peppers into bite sized chunks
  • Spread the vegetables out on a baking sheet, put the sheet in the oven and roast the vegetables for 18-20 minutes
2

Now, prep the rest of the ingredients

  • Peel and dice the shallots
  • Peel and grate the garlic
  • Halve the tomatoes
  • Dice the sun dried tomatoes
3

Making the stock

  • Warm the olive oil and the sun dried tomato oil in a large stockpot over a medium heat, add the shallots and a pinch of salt to the pan and stir for 4-5 minutes
  • Add the sun dried tomatoes and garlic and stir for 2 minutes
  • Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and stir for 2-3 minutes until the skins start to split
  • Add the Italian herbs and stir to combine
  • Add the passata, stock and bay leaf to the pan, stir for 30 seconds and leave to simmer for 4-5 minutes
4

Add the roasted veg

  • Take the roasting vegetables out of the oven, add them to the pan and fold them into the soup
  • Turn the heat down and leave the soup to simmer for 18-20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent catching
  • Add the spinach, half the basil and the juice of half a lemon to the pan and fold them into the soup for 1 minute
  • Taste the soup and season to perfection with salt and pepper
5

Time to serve

  • Spoon the soup into 4 bowls, top with basil leaves (and hummus and vegan pesto, if using) and serve with fresh, crusty sourdough bread

Tips & Variations

  • Blend to your liking: We like this soup with a bit of texture, so we blitz it until it's mostly smooth but still has a few chunky bits. If you want it velvety and silky, just keep going with the blender.
  • Serve it with something good: A thick slice of crusty bread or a warm baguette is non-negotiable here. Trust us on this one. It's also great with a swirl of good olive oil on top and a few fresh basil leaves.
  • Make it go further: Henry always adds a tin of cannellini beans when he wants it to be a bit more filling. Just throw them in when you add the stock and they'll soak up all that gorgeous flavour.

Why This Works

The trick here is roasting the veg before they go anywhere near the pot. It sounds like an extra step but it makes such a huge difference, caramelising the edges and concentrating the flavour so every spoonful tastes like proper French sunshine. The combo of fresh and sun dried tomatoes is something we stumbled on a while back and now we'd never go back, it gives the soup this almost jammy, intense base that's really hard to beat.