Ratatouille

Ratatouille

I made this traditional recipe for some very special guests. I will introduce them in good time. Ratatouille is a stew of the vegetables that are so prevalent in the Mediterranean in the summertime; aubergines, courgettes and sweet peppers, which originated in Nice and has been adopted by the Provence region. The circumstances dictated that I prepare a copious amount of the stuff, roughly enough for twelve portions but it is easy enough to calculate how much you want to prepare. Just keep in mind that you need approximately an equal amount of all the vegetables, maybe slightly less tomatoes.

Ratatouille

The secret of a good ratatouille is to cook the vegetables separately so each will taste truly of itself.
—Joël Robuchon, The Complete Robuchon
Ingredients
Aubergines 1Kg
Italian Zucchini 1Kg
Green and Coloured Peppers 1 Kg
Onions 1 Kg
Tomatoes 900 g
Garlic one head
Olive Oil 300 Ml
Basil a bunch
Salt 2 tsp
pepper 1/2 tsp
Method

Wash the vegetables and cut them into 2.5 cm cubes. Start sauteing the vegetables one by one on a high heat in a large skillet or wok. Start with the aubergines,IMG_9985

brown them in some of the oil and move them with a slotted spoon to a casserole dish or a large pot. Repeat the process with the courgettes, making sure there is enough oil as the aubergine absorbs a lot of oil. Repeat with the peppers and onions together.
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If your skillet or wok is too small do them in batches so you can get enough heat. Once these vegetables are all in the pot add the tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly diced, the garlic finely chopped and the salt and pepper.
Add one cup of water and bring to the boil. Lower the temperature to very low, cover and simmer for an hour. Remove the cover and simmer for another 30 min until most of the liquid is gone. The vegetables should retain their shape even though they are cooked for a long time.