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Method :
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 degorging,
removes bitter juices from the vegetables. Rinse, drain and dry the
aubergines well on absorbent kitchen paper.
Heat the oil in
a large saucepan or casserole. Add the onions and garlic, stir well, then
cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the onions are soft but not browned.
Add the
peppers, aubergines and bouquest garni to the pan and cook them, stirring,
for 5 minutes. Stir in the courgettes and seasoning, then cover the
saucepan and simmer the vegetables for 15 minutes.
Add the
tomatoes, stir lightly and recover the saucepan. 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. Alternatively, ratatouille may be served
cold.
Serves 4-6
Ratatouille is a familiar dish of stewed
vegetables, varied in many ways by different cooks. Its origins lie in
Nice (France) where it would be prepared using the vegetables above,
added at different stages of cooking, stewed in plenty of olive oil
until cooked to the taste of the particular cook.
Modern versions of this dish simply saute
the vegetables briefly but the true, full-flavor of the complementary
vegetables is achieved by longer cooking. Ratatouille is delicious
prepared one day, then slowly reheated to boiling point the next day.
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