My Ratatouille
Summer’s defining quality is colour.
The stands at markets here are bursting with it–blindingly so.
Colour in abundance and it makes my heart sing.
This is my favorite dish this summer and will feature in my new cookbook:
Robin Ellis’ Mediterranean Vegetarian Cooking–the writing of which I am nearly half-way through and which will feature the wonderful photos of Meredith Wheeler!
Search in the fridge and in the bowl on the kitchen table for those peppers you bought a couple of days ago, and have yet to cook.
Perhaps a red and a yellow with a handful of those tender little pale green ones.
Now’s their moment!
Two smallish onions needed too.
And the multi-coloured cherry tomatoes that seduced you at seven in the morning at the Saturday open-air farmers market.
Olive oil, garlic, chili and coriander seeds—are key supporting actors.
No aubergines this time or sloppy courgettes!
This is MY version of a classic dish made many different ways around the Mediterranean.
Maybe not strictly speaking–RATATOUILLE.
A first cousin–let’s call it–to this seasonal delight.
for 2
2 smallish onions—halved and halved again and sliced
2 red peppers—seeded and cut into rough squares
Handful of small green peppers, if you can find them, seeded and cut into rough squares
2 cloves of garlic—roughly chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds—crushed
1 small fresh or dried red chili—chopped small
400 gms fresh ripe tomatoes—roughly chopped into a bowl
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a shallow pan and add the onions.
Soften them gently before adding the garlic.
Cook a further two minutes before adding the second tablespoon of olive oil, the peppers and chili, stirring them in.
Cover the pan and cook gently to soften the peppers—about ten minutes.
Uncover and check that the peppers have lost their hard bite.
When you are happy that they have softened, pour off the excess liquid from the tomatoes (saving it to another bowl) and add them to the pan, stirring everything together.
Season well with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Cook on until the tomatoes have integrated with the peppers in a delicious summer sauce.
You can add a little of the saved tomato juice as the tomatoes cook but this version should not be too mushy.
Serve with a dollop of tapinade or pesto and some green beans. Here it is served on bulgur wheat.
