Our take on the famous French delicacy: Ratatouille.

A flavour-packed veggie stew that can be eaten on its own, over cooked grains, or on slices of crusty bread. Ratatouille is one of those wonderful dishes that actually tastes better the next day (warm or cold!).

It’s perfect for a meal-prep idea or in preparation for an upcoming party.

Bon appetit!

SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small eggplant
• 1 medium yellow summer squash
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup light-bodied French red wine
• 1 14oz – 400 g can diced san Marzano tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh basil

INSTRUCTIONS:

STEP 1: Assemble your ingredients. Place a cast iron (or other grill-safe) Dutch oven on the grill and preheat to low.

STEP 2: Cut your eggplant into 2-3cm thick slices, and then dice. Resist making crude eggplant emoji related jokes.

STEP 3: Transfer the diced eggplant to a small bowl and add ½ teaspoon salt.

STEP 4: Dice the yellow squash, zucchini, and bell pepper, and place in another bowl.

STEP 5: Dice the onion, and place in yet another bowl. Should we have warned you beforehand about the excessive use of bowls in this recipe? Well, better late than never. You’re gonna need a bunch of bowls for this recipe.

STEP 6: Smash and mince (or grate) the garlic and add it to the zucchini mixture. Add the herbs de Provence as well.

STEP 7: Now that you’ve used all the bowls in your kitchen (hope you like washing dishes!), pour the olive oil into the preheated Dutch oven and then add the eggplant. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the eggplant starts to soften up a bit and get darker in colour.

STEP 8: Stir in the onions, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they become translucent and soft.

STEP 9: Add the veggie mixture, stir, cover, and cook for 40 minutes. Stir it up every 10 minutes or so, making sure everything cooks evenly but doesn’t burn on the bottom. Don’t forget to wear oven mitts when handling the lid! It’ll be hot. Really, really hot.

STEP 10: Measure out your wine. Also, pour yourself a glass of wine. This is a very important step.

STEP 11: Add the ½ cup of wine to the ratatouille. Stir. Have a sip of your wine. Let the ratatouille rest for a few minutes. Have another sip of wine.

STEP 12: Add the tomatoes and stir ‘em in. Let it cook for another 10 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

STEP 13: Top with fresh basil, and serve.