Ratatouille is always better made the day before you need it. It's great eaten at room temperature. Serve as a side dish or use to make a delicious vegetarian lasagna.
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Ingredients
Vegetables
3courgettessliced
2smallauberginessliced
4tomatoessliced
3peppers (one will be for the sauce)
sauce
2tbspolive oil
1oniondiced
4clovesgarliccrushed
400gtin chopped tomatoes
3sprigsthyme
1tbspdried oregano
2tspbalsamic vinegar
Herb drizzle
10basil leavestorn
1clovegarlicminced
2sprigs thymeleaves removed
4tbspextra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Heat the oven to 230 fan. Cut the peppers in half from stalk to base, remove the stalk, pith and seeds. Line a baking tray with foil and lightly grease with oil. Place the peppers cut side down and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, slip the skins off and slice 2 of them and chop the third. Turn the oven down to 150c fan.
To make the sauce, warm the oil in a saucepan over a low heat, add the onion and cook until soft, add the garlic after 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomato, add they thyme sprigs and oregano, season and the chopped pepper (saving the sliced ones for the next part of the recipe), simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Take out the thyme sprigs and stir in the vinegar, check the seasoning and add salt if necessary.
Pour the sauce into the base of an oven dish and arrange the slices of vegetables in an alternating pattern (eg courgette, tomato, aubergine, pepper) from the outer edge to the middle of the pan. Season again with salt and pepper. Beat the basil, remaining garlic and thyme leaves with the extra virgin olive oil and drizzle over the vegetables.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. remove the foil and bake for a further 30 minutes uncovered. Leave to cool before serving or its delicious the next day reheated in an oven at 180C fan.