Ratatouille is a French stewed vegetable dish. From the late 18th century it is indicated as coarse stew, most common ingredients are tomato, garlic, onion, courgette, eggplant, bell pepper and green herbs local to the region.
According to the purists though, the different vegetables should cook separately, then combined and cooked slowly together until they become smooth and creamy consistency, so that the each vegetable will taste truly of itself.
Classic Ratatouille is a super easy healthy recipe to get 3 full servings of veggies
Ingredients
2 red onions
2 aubergines / Brinjal/ Egg plant
3 courgettes / Zucchini
3 red or yellow peppers
6 ripe tomatoes
½ a bunch of fresh basil
olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 x 400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ a lemon
Method
Prep the ingredients before you start – peel and cut the onions into wedges. Trim the aubergines and courgettes, deseed the peppers and chop into chunks. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Pick the basil leaves and set aside, then finely slice the stalks.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the chopped aubergines, courgettes and peppers and fry for around 5 minutes, or until golden and softened, but not cooked through. Remove the cooked veg into a large bowl.
Then to the pan, add the onion, basil stalks and thyme leaves with another drizzle of oil, if needed. Fry for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened and golden.
Tip- You can add 4 cloves of chopped garlic before adding basil stalks to the pan.
Return the cooked veg to the pan and add in the fresh and tinned tomatoes, the balsamic and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
Mix well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Cover the pan and simmer over a low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, or until reduced, sticky and sweet.
Tear in the basil leaves, finely grate in the lemon zest and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Serve with steamed rice.
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