Ratatouille
A vegetable stew from the south of France: summer vegetables fried separately, then gently stewed with tomato and herbs.
Method
Cut all the vegetables into 2 cm cubes. Sprinkle the aubergine with salt, leave for 10 minutes, then pat dry.
Add in this stepAubergine (eggplant) 150 gSalt and pepper to taste
Fry the aubergine, courgette and peppers separately in olive oil over medium-high heat until golden, then remove. Cook each vegetable in 1 batch(es) (for a 28 cm pan); this takes in total.
Add in this stepCourgette (zucchini) 150 gBell peppers (mixed colours) 1Olive oil 1.9 tbsp
medium-high heatFry the onion and garlic in a pot, add the tomatoes and herbs and simmer over medium heat for to make a sauce.
Add in this stepOlive oil 0.6 tbspOnion 100 gMinced garlic 1½ tspFresh or canned whole tomatoes 200 gHerbes de Provence (or thyme and rosemary) ½ tspBay leaves 1
medium heatAdd all the fried vegetables, cover and simmer gently over low heat for . Season and top with basil.
Add in this stepSalt and pepper to tasteBasil to taste
low heat
Cook's tip
Frying the vegetables separately keeps each one's texture. It tastes even better reheated the next day.
Cooking it at camp
Cut the vegetables at home and pack them in separate zip-lock bags to skip prep at the site. One Dutch oven handles both frying and stewing.