As a child, I was fed with the famous veggie pot. I didn’t have a very good opinion of it. A mixture of boiled vegetables. When I asked what that “ratatouille” was and was told “a more French type of veggie pot”, I said I wasn’t interested. Reading the recipe, it also seemed complicated, so I said no, another recipe I don’t feel like trying. And yet… I tried. It’s been a few years since then and a few times a month I enjoy this light and yet hearty food, cheap and easy to make, and as similar to our veggie pot as a rose is to a dandelion.
Ingredients:
- An eggplant
- A zucchini
- A bell pepper
- A yellow onion
- 3 boiled and peeled tomatoes or a can of tomatoes in broth
- 2-3 cloves of garlic
- A few sprigs of parsley
- Salt, pepper and whatever spices you want
Method of preparation
Peel the eggplant and cut it into cubes, then place it on a plate and sprinkle with salt.
Cut the zucchini into cubes, then julienne the onion, and the pepper into pieces.
Put a little oil in a large pan and saute the zucchini. If more is needed, add a little more oil, then saute the eggplant pieces.
Take them out on a plate. Saute onion and pepper in the same pan.
After they have softened, add the crushed garlic, then the tomato cubes. Leave for another 5 minutes on low heat.
Now we are going to put all the ingredients together. Place the pieces of zucchini and eggplant, and the finely chopped parsley on top of tomato, onion and pepper mixture. Cover the pan and leave it on a low heat for 10 minutes, then remove the lid, mix and add the spices to taste (we don’t add salt anymore, because we put it over the eggplant). Mix again, leave for another 5 minutes and that’s it.
Enjoy with green salad, pickles or even plain.
This is just one of the ways to make ratatouille, probably the simplest of them all. And the closest to the original, provencal version. It can also be made in the oven, with the vegetables cut into slices and placed nicely, in layers, horizontally or vertically. Or with chicken, baked eggs, chickpeas, or even polenta.
