Provence - Ratatouille
Serves 6, as a side
Super easy
Prep 10 minutes, Cook 1 1/2 hours
This is fuss free and super easy, barely a recipe. Just ‘chop everything up and chuck it in’, perfect on a warm day when you don’t want to be in front of a hot oven. You can leave it on the hob with the lid on and serve in the pan as it looks so fabulous. I like my vegetables chunky and still with some bite, but if you prefer slice into smaller chunks. This is directed at those following a Low FODMAP diet, but feel free to add garlic, onion and leek if you would rather.
3 mixed bell peppers, seeds removed
6 tbsp garlic oil
Salt
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and fronds removed, sliced into wedges
3 spring onions, green parts only, sliced thinly
350g (1 3/4) cup mixed tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 small courgettes (zucchini) , chopped into larger 5cm chunks
1 small aubergine (eggplant), chopped in 5cm chunks
1 glass red wine
100g (3/4 cup) olives, pitted plus juices
1 tbsp cumin powder
3 tbsp tomato paste
Cracked black pepper, as much as you like
2 chillies, sliced in half, (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup distilled water
To serve - Large bunch parsley
Pre-heat oven to 200°C fan, slice peppers into irregular large chunks, drizzle with 3 tbsp garlic oil and a few pinches of salt and roast for 25 minutes until blistered and caramelised.
Heat 3 tbsps garlic oil in a shallow sauce pan with a lid so you can cover it later, add the fennel and sliced green onions to the pan. Coat in the oil and fry for a few minutes to soften before adding the chopped tomatoes, courgette and aubergine (eggplant). Fry for a further 6 minutes, the courgette (zucchini) will begin to look transparent at the edges.
Add the red wine and let the ratatouille cook in it for 4-5 minutes. Add the whole olives and juices, cumin, tomato paste, chillies, salt, pepper, lemon and a cup of water. Give everything a good stir and then leave to gently cook for 50 minutes uncovered. Taste the sauce to see if you like the flavour and want to add anymore salt, pepper, lemon or cumin. When the sauce has thickened and reduced by half, add the blistered peppers and reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover and leave for a further 20 minutes.
Serve straight out of the pan with chopped parley on top. Add a few dollops of Oatly Cream to make this super creamy and indulgent.