Ratatouille and Cannellini Bean Pasta

For those of us lucky enough to have garden space to devote to growing veg, this time of year sees a glut of fresh produce. Ratatouille is the perfect way of using up all those courgettes (zucchinis), tomatoes, peppers (capsicums) and aubergines (eggplants).

Of course, if you don’t grow your own, all the ingredients are freely available in your local market! 🙂 I have plenty of tomatoes and courgettes (zucchinis), but bought the other veg.

If you haven’t got really ripe (over-ripe even) tomatoes, or you don’t fancy the job of skinning them (although it’s really simple), a tin of chopped tomatoes will do the job nearly as well.

In this recipe, I have used the ratatouille as the basis for a pasta sauce. The cannellini beans provide added texture and protein. You could sub this for a sliced grilled chicken breast if your regime permits.

Apart from a pasta sauce, the ratatouille also makes a perfect vegetable side dish or a filling for a baked potato or sweet potato.

Fresh veggies at their peak of ripeness, garlic, basil, heart-healthy olive oil, cannellini beans and pasta: I can almost hear the Mediterranean! Talking of which, the health benefits of including these ingredients is well-documented – especially for heart health.

If you like this dish, you might also want to try my red pepper hummus pasta or tuna puttanesca recipes.

Give the ratatouille and cannellini bean pasta a go and let me know what you think.

Happy cooking, eating and running, everyone!

5 from 1 vote

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Ratatouille and cannellini bean pasta

Use up the late summer veg in this tasty and healthy pasta dish

Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Keyword ratatouille

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

For the ratatouille

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 onions
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 red chilli optional
• 2 large aubergines (eggplant)
• 3 courgettes (zucchini)
• 1 red pepper (capsicum)
• 1 green pepper (capsicum)
• 6 tomatoes Or use 400g tin
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 3 tbsp fresh basil

For the pasta

• 300 g dried wholewheat pasta
• 400 g tin cannellini beans

Instructions

For the ratatouille

1. If using fresh tomatoes, place them in a large bowl and pour over boiling water to cover. Leave for 60-90 seconds and drain. The skins will slip off easily now. Roughly chop the tomatoes.

2. Coarsely chop the onions, peppers (capsicums), aubergines (eggplants) and basil. Finely chop the garlic. Deseed and finely chop the chilli, if using.

3. Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and chilli (if using) for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent.

4. Add the aubergines (egg plant) and cook gently for a further 5 minutes.

5. Add the courgettes (zucchini) and peppers (capsicums) and cook gently for a further 5 minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and about 2 tbsp of water. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, uncovered.

7. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper and add the basil.

For the pasta

1. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

2. Drain and rinse the cannellini beans.

3. Add the beans and the ratatouille (you may not need it all) to the pasta and mix well.

Recipe Notes

I don't always use the chilli in this recipe – it isn't traditional for ratatouille, but sometimes I like the added kick 🙂

I sometimes throw in a handful of pitted black olives with the cannellini beans too.

As mentioned in the post, grilled sliced chicken breast works well in place of the beans if you aren't vegetarian.