Ratatouille without Aubergine
Aubergine just didn't cut it, I'm afraid! However, if you love aubergine, please feel free to add some - you will need the same amount of aubergine as other vegetables.I ate this with meat, with pasta, with rice, honestly it's good with everything - I especially love it with a little grated cheese and a blob of ricotta on top.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- 22cm/8.5in circular baking dish/pie dish the quantity of ingredients fit this dish perfectly, so if you need to, add or subtract the quantities
Ingredients
- 25 g tomato puree/paste
- 145 g canned plum tomatoes roughly chopped
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 80 ml water ⅓ cup
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 courgette sliced
- 1 red pepper sliced and each slice cut in half - pepper slices can be much taller than courgette and tomato, so best to ensure they're all roughly the same size
- 3 medium tomatoes sliced
- 1 large red onion sliced and and each slice cut in half
- 2 tsp herbes de Provence or dried oregano
- A small handful of basil leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/170°C fan/375°F. Combine the tomato puree with the chopped plum tomatoes and spread them over the base of your baking dish. Sprinkle with the chopped onion and garlic, the 3 tbsp olive oil and the water. Season generously with salt and stir it all together.
- Start lining up your courgette, pepper, tomato and red onion slices. First, season them all with a little salt. Line them around the circumference of your dish, ideally in a pattern, but if you're tired, then no pressure. Make sure they are all roughly the same height. Pepper slices can be much taller.
- Once you've completed the circuit, fill in the centre by going around the circle again.
- Slip some basil leaves between the vegetable slices, and if you have spare slices of onion or pepper lying around, squeeze them in where you can. Sprinkle the ratatouille with some salt and pepper, the herbes de Provence and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Cover the dish in baking paper - this can be a little tricky. Rip out a circle of baking paper then scrunch it up into a ball then flatten it out. Slide it between the vegetables and the edge of the dish and try to push it down to cover the ratatouille.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until all the vegetable slices are tender and soft and the juices are bubbling. Serve with baguette and cheese and extra basil.