Many ways to prepare ratatuille – French vegetable goulash
Ratatuille – French vegetable goulash comes in many variations. It can be baked, made in slow cooker or just cooked in a regular pot. The 5-element Theory says that dishes should be as uncomplicated as possible, so the version done in the pot goes with that. It also saves you washing up, which is just what we want.
You will need a large frying pan and a large heavy-based pot ready on the hob, as the amounts below serve 4-6 people. Wash all the vegetables and chop them roughly.
To fry the aubergines
Aubergines are a specific king of vegetable. So, to make sure you get the most of the flavour, fry them cubed on high heat until the side touching the frying pan gets almost burnt. Then, turn each cube over and repeat the procedure.
To fry the other vegetables
Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil (rapeseed or sunflower) on the frying pan and fry in batches the vegetables listed below. Once each batch is soft (but not falling apart), transfer it to the pot and do the next round.
The procedure
- Sweet 1 yellow pepper, 1 orange pepper, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 aubergine, 2 small courgettes, cut in thick slices; 3 celery sticks (optional), wash all the vegetables and chop them roughly, make sure the chunks are quite big. Fry them on high heat and transfer into the pot. Before putting each batch onto the frying pan add 1-2 tablespoons of oil.
- Pungent 2 large onions, cut in semi-circles and fried until translucent, 6-7 garlic cloves, roughly sliced and added uncooked straight to the pot, a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper.
- Salty 1 flat tablespoon of good quality salt, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (optional). Stir all the ingredients well.
- Sour 1-2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped.
- Bitter a generous pinch of fresh marjoram and thyme leaves.
- Sweet 2 teaspoons of sugar (preferably brown sugar).
Finally
Bring the pot to the boil and stir all the ingredients well. Simmer on low heat for 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately sprinkled with fresh herbs of your choice eg. marjoram, thyme, sage or basil.
Ratatuille goes well with almost anything, for example Italian Gnocchi or Polish Kopytka, or just on its own.
