Easy Ratatouille

Easy Ratatouille

(Serves 8 people as a side dish, can be frozen)

Ingredients

2 large eggplant, cut into bite sized pieces

2 onions, finely diced

1 red capsicum, diced

1 green capsicum, diced

4 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds, or half rounds if large

4 large tomatoes, diced

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

3-4 sprigs thyme

1/2 cup loosely packed basil, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

Method

Peel the eggplants, if desired , I like the texture of the skin so don’t peel them.  Chop eggplant into bite-sized cubes.

Warm a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy based pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and a generous pinch of salt. Sauté until the onions have softened and are just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the capsicum and zucchini and continue cooking until the softened, about another 5 minutes. Transfer the onions, capsicum and zucchini to a clean bowl.

Warm two tablespoons of oil in the pan and sauté the eggplant until it has softened and has begun to turn translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, and thyme. As the tomato juices begin to bubble, gently scrape any delicious brown glaze from the bottom of the pan. Add all of the vegetables back into the pan and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Bring the stew to a simmer, then turn down the heat to low. Stirring occasionally, simmer for at least 20 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours. Shorter cooking time will leave the vegetables in larger, more distinct pieces; longer cooking times will break the vegetables down into a silky stew.