Oh I forgot how delicious something so simple can be! 😀 and I’ve tried to make this as simple as possible with no faffing, fancy ingredients or complicated instructions! Okay, so this isn’t the ‘proper’ way to make ratatouille… but then when did I make anything that was! 😛
I used my crumblerecipe last night for rhubarb fresh from the allotment (and almost had cold crumble for breakfast)… which made me remember I hadn’t added to the Back to Basics series for a while! So now the series has ratatouille as well as pancakes, green smoothies, Buddha bowls, roasted vegetables and a few other easy to follow, easy to make recipes! 😀
Close up of those lovely veg!
Ratatouille scattered with basil
That sauce!!! YumYumYum!
Ratatouille is a gorgeous melange of tomatoes, onions, garlic, aubergine and courgettes, sometimes with peppers (peppers deserve their own dish such as Hungarian Lecso) and simple fresh herbs such as basil. In the UK it’s courgette season now so this is something which can easily be whipped up! As I said, I’ve kept it as simple and fresh as possible and the flavours are just so good! 😀
*optional fresh/dry herb of choice – basil, oregano, mixed
Prepare
Heat (or melt) the oil in a large (non-stick) pan. Chop each onion in half, then each piece into quarters. Add to the oil and gently break up with your spatula (you could use your hands to do this before you start cooking but you won’t thank me for smelly hands)! Cook until starting to turn translucent.
Add the garlic, then the aubergine, sprinkle some salt over and cook until the aubergine starts to soften. Add the courgette and continue cooking until everything starts to turn brown.
Pour the passata over and gently stir to combine. Use the passata container to add cold water (& get all the remaining passata out of the container). Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for five minutes. Add black pepper, taste test and add more salt if required.
Add dried herbs if you wish during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, or scatter over fresh herbs when serving. You may find the taste is so great as it is you don’t want to overpower it!
Enjoy!
Serve & Store
This is best served warm (rather than hot).
Serve as a main with brown rice or quinoa (or chips)!
Use as a side to accompany something you’d usually have red sauce with!
Try it with chunks of bread dipped in.
Serve it up on toast (hot or cold).
Top crackers with houmousthen add a dollop of cold ratatouille!
