My Winning Recipe for Ratatouille

Hello Sweeties,

I thought I would share with you one of my food staples; Ratatouille! It goes with everything as either an accompaniment or on top of pasta, rice, jacket/sweet potatoes etc. I make huge batches of it each time I cook it so that I can store some in the freezer which will last me for ages.

There are a million different recipes for this and of course I do not preach that I do either the best or the most accurate but the below method and ingredients work for me so without further ado, you’ll need:

Onions

Peppers

Courgettes

Aubergines

Mushrooms

Tomatoes

A can of chopped tomatoes

Carrots –I am not actually sure if these are involved in a traditional ratatouille recipe but I throw a couple in because they are a permanent fixture of my fridge as I have a rabbit that loves them and she doesn’t mind sharing the occasional one with me!

Vegetable oil (olive will also work fine, completely up to you)

Salt & Pepper to season

Basil (I tend to use dried)

There really is no exact measure, quantity or ingredient list, if you buy and use at least 2-3 of each of the vegetables and of course anything else you think would be a nice addition you’ll make a decent batch that should last you a good couple of days if not longer so make as much or as little as you need and if you’re not a fan of i.e. mushrooms… just leave them out!

To start: Using a large saucepan or cooking pot add some of the oil and turn on the heat. Slice up the onions –I use a couple of medium-large sized ones but of course, I’ll use more if they are quite small. Add to the pan and cook until they soften then put aside into a baking tray (relatively deep and of course you may need more than one if you are cooking a large batch). Then, in turn add more oil and cook all the ingredients separately until they soften (except for the tomatoes –I leave these uncooked), and add to the baking tray(s). You can cook all of the ingredients together at the same time but I personally wouldn’t as to get the best of each vegetable they need cooking individually and for different times as some will turn to mush, whereas others like the aubergines may not cook enough.

Pre cook

Once everything is cooked and placed into the baking trays, give them a mix, season accordingly, sprinkle over the basil (optional), cover with foil and place into a medium-low oven for 50 minutes until it’s all beautifully roasted together and full of delicious juices. Either serve straight away or allow to cool before dividing into containers and placing in the fridge and/or freezer.

Ratatouille

 

I have a really fussy boyfriend who does not like vegetables and refuses to cook them (unless it’s peas!) so this way, when he cooks I can still have a vegetable portion as they just need heating up in the microwave!

Enjoy!

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