Ratatouille niçoise
Local name : Ratatouille
Summer vegetables cooked separately then brought together, the Nice way, so each keeps its own flavour.
Photo : Marcus Guimarães · CC BY 2.0
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 60 min
- Total
- 85 min
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
Method
- In a large sauté pan, fry the aubergines in 4 tbsp oil until golden and tender. Set aside.
- Do the same with the courgettes, then the peppers, adding oil each time. Keep each vegetable separate.
- In the same pan, soften the onions for 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes and bouquet garni. Reduce for 20 minutes.
- Return all the vegetables to the tomato sauce. Season and simmer, covered, over very low heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove the bouquet garni, add the shredded basil and a drizzle of raw olive oil.
- Serve hot, warm, or cold the next day, with bread, rice or a poached egg.
Cook the vegetables apart and combine them at the end. Started together, they release their water and collapse into a purée. Aubergine also drinks far more oil than courgette, which is another reason to give it its own pan.
