This recipe is our twist on the classic French dish. We've added a dash of tang to spice up the traditional flavours found in ratatouille. Ideal served with meat, fish, or even on its own with some crusty bread, this recipe is a kitchen staple.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 50 minutes approx.
Ingredients:
-
4 large ripe tomatoes
- 4 courgettes
- 2 yellow peppers
- 2 aubergines
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 red chilli, deseeded
- Small bunch fresh basil
- 1 onion
-
½ glass good red wine
- 1 tsp demerara sugar
- ½ jar MaRobert's sauce
- Salt and pepper
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 200℃.
- Peel the tomatoes, chop them into quarters, remove the seeds, then chop the flesh. Set to one side.
- Dice the courgettes, peppers, and aubergines. Set aside.
- Pour 2 tbsp of olive oil onto a roasting tray, making sure the surface is covered. Place the diced vegetables on the tray and mix to ensure they are covered in oil. Season with salt and pepper and place in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. Check at intervals, ensuring that the pieces are turned.
- Finely slice the onion, garlic, and chilli, and tear up the basil leaves.
- Five minutes before the vegetables are done, heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium/high heat. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the onion and cook for a further 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the oven and set aside.
- Add the red wine, MaRobert's sauce, and sugar to the pan, stirring well to combine.
- Add the tomatoes and half the basil leaves.
- Add the vegetables to the pan, stirring well to combine.
- Reduce the heat to medium/low and cook for 10 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper, top with fresh basil, and serve as required.
Tip: If you're finding it tricky to peel the tomatoes try scoring an 'x' into the base and place them in a bowl with boiling water for 15-20 seconds, then remove. Pour away the water and refill the bowl with cold water. Add the tomatoes to the bowl and leave to cool before peeling.
Tip: Sometimes roasting vegetables in oil can saturate them. Try using ghee (clarified butter) instead; a generous tbsp will do for this recipe.
