French Provencale stew, with a slightly Mexican twist. Sometimes you have to work with what you’ve got.
Ingredients:
1 large aubergine (eggplant)
2 courgettes (zucchinis)
1 large white onion
1 red pepper
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of passata
3 large tomatoes
teaspoon of cumin seeds
salt
squeeze of lemon juice
Tabasco sauce
handful of basil
6 large potatoes
handful of breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon tumeric
2 ripe avocados
2 cloves garlic
1 green chilli, deseeded
squeeze of lemon juice
1. Cut the aubergine into large chunks and put it in a colander. Sprinkle liberally with salt and lemon juice,put a plate on top and leave for about 30 minutes. This will draw out the bitter flavour and make the aubergine much more palatable.
2. Cut the potatoes into rough wedge shapes (you can leave the skins on, although I prefer to peel them), and mix them in a large bowl with the olive oil, chilli powder, turmeric and breadcrumbs. Put them on a baking tray and whack in the oven for 50 minutes at about 200 degrees.
3. Cut the rest of the vegetables into large pieces and put them into a casserole dish. Wipe the aubergines off with kitchen paper and drop them in also. Fry the onions, cumin and garlic in a splash of olive oil. Add them to the casserole, mix roughly and pour over the passata. Add a few drops of Tabasco, cover, and pop in the oven for about half an hour.
4. Finely chop the chill and garlic for the guacamole, and mash with the avocado and lemon juice. Leaving the avocado stone in the bowl will allegedly prevent the guacamole from discolouring, although I reckon the lemon juice does most of the work there.
5. Sprinkle the torn basil leaves over the ratatouille, and serve.
