OVEN-BAKED RATATOUILLE
SERVES 4 AS A MAIN OR 6 AS A SIDE
If you’re not a big fan of vegetables, I have a feeling this recipe from the south
of France will change your mind. Ripe vegetables are baked together with garlic and fresh herbs, and the result smells like summer.
- 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) olive oil
- 4 brown onions, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons thyme leaves
- 3 large zucchini (courgettes)
- 3 Japanese eggplants (aubergines)
- 6 truss tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped rosemary
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
Place a frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the onion for about 15 minutes, or until lightly golden, reducing the heat a little if the onion begins to catch. Add the garlic and 1 tablespoon of thyme and cook for 2 minutes. Spread the onion mixture over the base of a large roasting tin.
Wash the veggies and cut them widthways into 1 cm (½ inch) thick slices. Tightly arrange the vegetables in rows over the onion base, starting with the zucchini, followed by the eggplant then the tomato. Gently push the slices out so they sit in a diagonal pattern, exposing some of the flesh. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle over the rosemary and remaining thyme. Season with salt and pepper and bake for 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
