Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a basic French vegetable stew which can be served as a main or side dish. The main ingredients are tomatoes, aubergine, bell pepper and courgette, gently sautéed with onion, garlic and herbs. It’s a very popular and easy dish to make, so there are thousands of “best” recipes  –  to be honest you can’t go wrong with this basic version. If you want it stew-like, use tinned tomatoes; if you want it more like sautéed veggies, then use tomato purée (the later is the original Provencal version). You can use other dried herbs too, such as marjoram or herbes de Provence . Serve it with crusty bread or boiled rice – alternatively it goes well with grilled fish or meat. The thicker version makes perfect topping for puff pastry tarts &pizzas –  and if you blitz it, you’ll get an excellent vegan dip or sandwich spread.