Ratatouille / Vegetable Ragout

Serves 4/6

Preparation 1 hour

Ingredients

2 medium aubergines, trimmed and cut into 2.5 cm (1’’) cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tbs virgin olive oil
2 onions, skinned and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 red or green peppers, seeded and sliced
1 bouquet garni
4 courgettes, trimmed and sliced
4 large tomatoes, skinned and quartered
4 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Put the aubergines in a colander. Sprinkle the cubes liberally with salt and place over a bowl for about 20 minutes. This process, known as dégorging, removes bitter juices from them. Rinse, drain and dry the aubergines well on absorbent kitchen paper.
2. Heat the oil in the base of the cocotte. Add the onions and garlic, stir well, then cook for about 5 minutes without browning. Add the peppers, aubergines and bouquet garni to the dish and cook them, stirring, for 5 minutes. Stir in the courgettes and seasoning.
3. Cover with the lid and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, stir lightly and recover. Continue cooking the ratatouille for a further 15 minutes, or until all the vegetables are very tender. Taste and adjust the seasoning, discard the bouquet garni, then stir in the parsley and serve.
5. Alternatively, ratatouille may be served cold.
6. Bon Appétit!

Note:
Ratatouille is a familiar dish of stewed vegetables, varied in many ways by different cooks. Modern versions of this dish simply sauté the vegetables briefly but the true, full-flavour of the complimentary vegetables is achieved by longer cooking.
Ratatouille is delicious prepared one day, then slowly reheated to boiling point the next day.