Ratatouille-ish ratatouille

As french dishes go, I think ratatouille is one of the simplest vegetable dishes to make, the veg is sweet and tender. Perfect as a side dish or the main event, accompanied by some bread, some pasta, rice, chapati (I'm getting hungry just writing this), ratatouille is a joyous celebration of veg that loves the sun and is ripened under it, tomatoes, zucchinis, bell peppers, and eggplants.

Whatever way these four ingredients are brought together, this is my favorite way.

This dish applies the barest of techniques, save from the basic effort it takes to lay the circular slices of vegetables in an artful-ish appearance over the background of a quick tomato sauce. The point to be made here is that this is food to be enjoyed for the simplicity it takes to put together a beautiful meal, without the added pressure of a complex french name. Therefore do what you will with the recipe, arrange the veg is lines; exchange ingredients for whatever you have, or leave out ingredients you don't like. I couldn't access bell peppers so I left them out. But feel free to add them to your ratatouille. Now, snottiness averted, on to some exciting cooking!

Ingredients

• 2 large aubergines (eggplants)

• 2 large courgettes (zucchini)

• 3-4 large tomatoes (depending on how large yours are)

• salt and pepper

• olive oil

For the tomato sauce

• 1 finely diced red onion

• 1 tin of whole tomatoes ( or 6 very ripe tomatoes, skinned), crush them with your hands (there will be a mess, so be wary wear an apron unless you what to wear tomato juice)

• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

• herbs ( woody herbs like oregano or thyme are great, dried or fresh)

• 125 ml stock（ liquid or stock cubes dissolved in hot water)

• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste

• 2 tablespoons of ketchup (optional)

• olive oil

• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

• salt and pepper

METHOD

1. Slice aubergines, tomatoes, and courgettes into about 3 mm thick discs.

2. Place aubergine rounds into a container and generously scatter salt over them. Set aside. Aubergines especially the variety that is popular in Ugandan markets tend to have an underlying bitterness. Salting helps to draw that bitterness out or at least neutralize it. Salting also ensures that the aubergines cook faster.

3. In the meantime, prepare the quick tomato sauce base. On medium heat on cooker/hob, fry onions and garlic in a saucepan in some olive oil until the onions become translucent and the garlic fragrant. Add crushed tomatoes and their juices to the pan, as well as the tomato paste and ketchup. Add stock and herbs. Salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes until the sauce is thick and bubbles.

4. While the sauce cooks heat a griddle pan or any saucepan over high heat, drizzle a little olive oil on both sides of the courgette discs, and lay them on the hot griddle. Flip them over until charred on both ends. Remove aubergine discs from the salty water residue and rinse the aubergines thoroughly under cold water. Drizzle olive oil on and chur the aubergines in the same manner as courgettes. Set aside. Churring helps bring out the natural sugars in the vegetables but also helps cut the roasting time short in the oven. I won't usually char the tomatoes unless I have a good griddle pan and my tomatoes are firm.

5. Add the grated parmesan to the tomato sauce and stir through, then pour into an ovenproof dish. Mine is a 23cm pyrex dish and it serves 4-6 people comfortably.

6. Layer tomatoes, aubergines, and courgettes over the sauce, in any form you prefer overlapping, brush/drizzle over the top of the veg with a little olive oil, and place in a preheated oven for 20 minutes.

7. Enjoy!

PAT!