Mike's Ratatouille

Ingredients:

2 Large Onions

2 Garlic cloves

2 Aubergines (Eggplant)

4 Courgettes (Zucchini Squash)

4 Sweet Peppers (Bell Pepper), mix of colours

Tomatoes (2 or 3 tins of chopped tomatoes work for me)

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable stock cubes if desired.

Note:

There are any number of recipes for ratatouille, each recipe author has their own style of making what is essentially a vegetable stew. Ratatouille is a Mediterranean dish that can be eaten on its own, as a vegetable addition to a roast, or mixed with ground beef, lamb, turkey or anything else really. I use it mostly with ground beef and pasta to make a full meal. The amount of vegetable in the ingredient list is open to all sorts of variation, sometimes, if I cannot find eggplant  or courgette, I will substitute leeks but vegetables like broccoli and green beans don't really work in ratatouille. The bigger the cooking pan, the more you can get in it and the more you make, the more storage boxes or bags you will need to freeze the ratatouille into meal sized portions.

Method: (This is my own method)

Put 1/4 cup Olive oil in a deep pan and heat.

Roughly chop the onions, garlic, peppers, squash, aubergine and keep separate.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook gently, stirring until the onions start to sweat.

Add the peppers and mix in.

Add the courgettes and mix in.

Add the aubergine and mix in.

Cover the pan and cook gently, on a low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the vegetables from sticking.

As the vegetables cook, it may be necessary to add some more olive oil, but not too much. Liquid will come out of the vegetables as they soften anyway and should be enough to keep the ratatouille moist enough. As the vegetables soften you can add the stock cubes if desired, this really only adds seasoning to the pan. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir in and cover the pan. Cook for an hour or more and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as desired. If there is too much liquid, uncover the pan and allow to reduce as it continues to cook.

However you make your ratatouille, enjoy it!