Healthy Recipes - Ratatouille

Here is a simple recipe for ratatouille, which you can make quickly and easily for the family or for guests. It works well as a vegetable or as a main course with brown rice. You can also freeze it and so if you make a large pot full, it will last for several meals.

This is a great dish, suitable for vegetarians, or as an accompaniment to meat or chicken. Add a little red wine if you are entertaining guests.

Ingredients for Ratatouille

• 2 large aubergines (eggplant)
• 4 courgettes (zucchini)
• 1.5 lbs tomatoes (or a tin of tomatoes)
• Green and/or red/yellow/orange pepper
• Several cloves of garlic
• About a pint of water
• Tomato puree
• Olive oil
• Herbes de Provence, which is a mixture of dried herbs, the exact contents vary, but these are often included: basil, thyme, parsley, rosemary, sage, bay leaf, marjoram and oregano.

Instructions for Cooking Ratatouille

• Cut the aubergines (eggplant)into circles, sprinkle with sea salt and leave for 20 minutes
• Wash the salt and juice and cut the aubergine into smaller pieces
• Put the tomatoes in boiling water which will cause the skins to split and become easy to peel. Or just open a tin of tomatoes, if you are in a hurry
• Chop the onion and sauté in a small amount of oil
• Chop the courgettes into circular pieces
• Add the aubergine, courgettes and peppers to the onions and cook for about five minutes, with a little more oil
• Add the tomatoes, water and tomato puree or the tin of tomatoes
• Add the herbs
• Simmer for about 40 minutes, adding water as necessary
• Crush the garlic and add about five minutes before the ratatouille is ready.

Cooking the aubergines in the tomato sauce means you can use less oil. Adding the garlic towards the end enhances the flavour. You can add other vegetables, for example mushrooms if you like, as this adds a wide variety of vegetables to your diet.

Ratatouille can be eaten with rice, but it great on its own, with green vegetables like broccoli or spinach, or with white fish or chicken, making it a great meal for slimmers.

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