Vegetable ratatouille: a light, tasty and colorful recipe
Vegetable ratatouille: a light, tasty and colorful recipe
Equipment
- Bowl
- Frying pan
Ingredients
- 1 Courgette
- 1 Italian eggplant
- 1 Bell pepper
- 10 Vine tomatoes
- 2 Small onions
- to taste Extra virgin olive oil
- to taste Parsley
- to taste Thyme
- to taste Salt
- to taste Pepper
Instructions
- Wash and dry all the vegetables.
- Cut them into thin round slices.
- Place them in a bowl and season with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley.
- Mix well.
- Pour a little extra virgin olive oil into a frying pan and arrange the slices in a circle.
- Add a coffee cup of water, cover and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
- Check the vegetables after ten minutes and add water if the bottom of the pan gets too dry.
- Once ready, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle some fresh thyme on the ratatouille before serving it.
Today we will cook vegetable ratatouille, one of the best-known French recipes: it is simple to prepare, ideal as a starter or as a side dish. Before we begin, some tips to get it right:
Vegetable ratatouille: preparation tips
Ratatouille is just a mix of fresh vegetables: eggplant, courgettes, tomatoes, onions and peppers. Of course it is not as easy as it sounds…
- Tomatoes: we recommend vine tomatoes: they are tasty and firm, so they won’t break down during cooking.
- Eggplant: the Italian eggplant kind is perfect as it can be easily cut into round slices. It should be drained before cooking. The slices should be arranged on a plate, sprinkled with coarse salt and covered with a heavy lid. They will be ready after one hour.
- Courgettes: you can use Black Beauty courgettes, i.e. the dark green, fairly large, cylindrical zucchini found in any supermarket; their flesh is tender and has very few seeds.
- Peppers: red or yellow peppers will do; of course it is essential to remove the seeds and filaments inside.
- Onions: again, either regular white or red onions can be used. Red onions are more delicate and easier to digest.
Ratatouille and extra virgin olive oil: a perfect combination
Ratatouille is a simple and wholesome dish based on fresh vegetables, that’s why extra virgin olive oil is ideal to complement it. Moreover, EVO oil has many other good qualities:
- If added after cooking it is very digestible and enhances the flavor of any dish.
- It withstands very high temperatures and is perfect for fried or stir-fried preparations.
That said, extra virgin olive oil is also very healthy:
- Its “good” fats help regulate blood cholesterol levels and do not weigh on the liver.
- The antioxidants it contains neutralize free radicals, slowing cellular aging.
For this recipe, we recommend Farchioni Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold-pressed and made exclusively from organically grown olives selected from the best farming areas. This oil is suitable for all uses in cooking and, by virtue of its delicacy, enhances rather than hiding the flavor of other ingredients.
Now you know all the secrets to cook an excellent ratatouille… go ahead and try our recipe!
