Jammy Ratatouille

Of all the regional French dishes I studied at culinary school, ratatouille is the one that stuck with me. It has become one of my favourite staple summer dishes I make; so comforting and flavoursome, also goes well with any type of carb you choose to eat it with whether bread, pasta, couscous…

For this version of ratatouille, I ask to sear the veggies one by one, I think this helps build a flavour profile a little more complex than searing everything together, but if you want to cut down on time, you can for sure add the aubergine, pepper, courgette together, sear them, and then add the onion and garlic, finishing with the rest. The ingredients aren’t the most traditional (it actually can vary quite a bit from different places in the South of France, and from person to person) but the end result is absolutely delicious. This is definitely something I make often (only in summer - since all the veggies are in season.)

serves: 3-4 people

prep/cooking time: 50-60 minutes

Ingredients

1 large aubergine, diced into 2cm chunks

2 small peppers, diced into 2 cm chunks

1 large courgette, diced into 2 cm chunks

1 large onion, diced into 2 cm chunks

4 cloves of garlic, sliced finely

2 tomatoes, diced into chunks

1 tbsp tomato paste

4 stalks of fresh thyme

1/4 cup (55ml) water

4 basil stalks

basil leaves, to garnish

salt, olive oil

Method

1. Bring a pot up to medium-high heat, add 3 tbsp olive oil. When the oil has come up to temperature, add in the aubergine chunks, lightly sear the pieces until they start to go brown, season lightly with salt, and remove from the pot, set aside in a bowl.

2. Add the peppers to the empty pot, adding more oil if needed. Season the veggies lightly with salt, and cook until the pieces start to brown, remove from the pot, and set aside in the bowl with the aubergine.

3. Add the courgette and onions into the pot, sweat the veggies until the onion starts to go translucent and the courgette starts to soften, season lightly with salt.

4. Add in garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste and thyme into the pot, cook stirring the mix until the tomato paste slightly darkens and the tomatoes start to release their juices, season lightly. A lot of fond will have built up on the bottom of the pot, this is all flavour, try not to burn it.

5. Pour in the water and deglaze the bottom of the pot, scrape it until most of the fond has lifted. Return the seared veggies back into the pot along with the basil stalks. Bring the mix to a boil, cover with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook for a minimum of 30 minutes, stirring every so often to make sure nothing catches on the bottom of the pot. The veggies can be simmer for up to 1 hour.

6. After simmering, remove the lid and if you find the mixture too watery, reduce some of the water until you are happy with the consistency. Taste and season before serving. Can be eaten hot or cold.