“Ratatouille” Soup

I would just like to preface this by saying no… I have never had traditional Ratatouille, therefore I apologize if this soup is somewhat of a disgrace to the dish. However, it is my intent that rather than an offense, it is more of an appreciative nod to the traditional version. I am well aware of what ratatouille is, and I look forward to the day that I get a chance to try it in its authentic form. Less authentically though, one of my favorite easy dinners is chopping up a bunch of vegetables, throwing them on a skillet with some tomatoes or tomato sauce, and letting it simmer for a minute. Its simple, it’s easy, and it also tastes really good! This soup, somewhat stemmed from that meal that I make often (the lots of vegetables in tomato sauce), however I chose to add chicken. While I know that ratatouille is typically a vegetarian dish, the addition of chicken made this soup just a tad more filling and balanced!

Also, I feel as though I should mention that I am a person that really loves vegetables. I’m not sure if that is a necessary detail, but I sometimes worry that my recipes will not be as well liked by those who don’t enjoy vegetables in the same way that I do… so maybe keep an open mind. Perhaps if you are not a vegetable lover, one of my many vegetable heavy recipes could begin to alter your outlook!

What You Will Need

• Olive oil
• Minced garlic
• 1 sweet onion
• Zucchini
• Bell Pepper (any color, I chose red)
• 1 pound of chicken
• Tomato paste
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (low-sodium is my preference)
• Chicken Broth
• Italian seasonings
• Salt & pepper

Tips on How to Make this “Ratatouille” Soup

Preparing the Chicken: I’m not ashamed to admit that preparing or cooking meat is not my strong suit. I find whatever way that gets it done the quickest and least hands on to be the best. Currently, that means I like to cook it on the stove top then shred it up by hand after. Feel free to prepare your chicken in whatever way you would like; and perhaps share you method with me so that I can try it sometime :).

Adding More: This recipe is fairly simple. I think that’s what I like about it. Usually I would probably add triple the vegetables and maybe even some chickpeas, but this time I just didn’t. I kind of think it has all it needs; you may disagree though. As always, add whatever you want… but I think this way is pretty good.

Bell Pepper: Whatever color bell pepper you have/want is more than welcome

Seasonings: Any additional seasonings that sound appealing are a welcomed addition. Unfortunately I am a college student living in a dorm with a very limited spice collection (I only own garlic powder and italian seasonings in addition to salt and a pepper container I can’t get open).

Quick and Easy: My hope is that this soup can is a quick and easy meal, that also happens to be rather nutrient dense! On, and per usual; I always eat soup with sourdough… it’s a little bit of a non-negotiable, so I think you should consider it too!

“Ratatouille” Soup

Recipe by AddisonCourse: Meals, Soup’s

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Calories

240

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 sweet onion, diced

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 2 bell peppers, diced(or one large bell pepper)

• 2 small zucchinis, diced

• 1 pound chicken (I used tenderloins, any kind will do!)

• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 can diced tomatoes (not drained)

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

• 1 tablespoon italian seasonings

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

Instructions

• Cook chicken in whatever way you desire. I like to cook mine in a small skillet and then shred it up by hand.
• Begin by dicing up the onion, zucchini, and bell pepper. I like to dice the onion fairly well, but have a variety of some smaller and some larger pieces of the zucchini and bell pepper (between 1/2in – 1in pieces).
• Once the vegetables are prepped, add oil to a medium/large pot on high heat. Give the oil a minute to warm up, then add the vegetables into the pot. Sauté for 5ish minutes, until softened.
• At this point, add in the cooked and shredded chicken along with the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Stir until the tomato paste evenly coats all contents, then add in the chicken broth.
• Finally, add in the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and italian seasonings.
• Allow the soup to simmer for 12-15 more minutes, then it’s all done!