French Tian Provençal

This is the slightly dressier cousin of the French ratatouille.  

Garden veggies, slow roasted in the oven until they turn melted and jammy with a few crispy edges here and there.  A dish that is simple, delicious and super-healthy.  We like to serve it along with some goats' cheese or feta cheese as well as with some freshly baked, crusty bakery bread to dip in the amazing sauce that this medley of vegetables releases.  Can also make a great side to grilled sea bass, sea bream or cod as well as to various roast meats. 

INGREDIENTS (makes about 4 portions)

1 aubergine

2 courgettes

3 medium potatoes

400g tomatoes, washed and blitzed in a blender

2 brown or white onions, peeled and finely chopped

1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

4-5 tbsp of Opus gold awarded extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

fresh herbs you happen to have to hand, such as basil, thyme, flat leaf parsley, oregano or a small amount of rosemary.

METHOD

* Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

* Place 3 tbsp of the extra virgin olive oil together with your chopped onions in a medium sized pot on medium heat.  Allow the onions to cook until they get glassy, for about 5 min.  Add the crushed garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute.  Then add the blitzed tomatoes and stir in with the onions.  let cook for about 10 more minutes.

* When done, pour this sauce into the base of an oven-proof dish to cover it.  It will keep your vegetables moist and give them great flavour.

* Finely slice your courgettes, aubergine and potatoes (this is easiest done with a mandoline slicer) and arrange overlapping slices in tight rows over the sauce in your oven proof dish.  The vegetables will release moisture and shrink during the cooking process.  When finished, season with salt and pepper to taste, place sprigs of your herbs here and there and drizzle the remaining extra virgin olive oil over the dish.

* Place the dish in your pre-heated oven at 180 degrees Celsius and let cook for about an hour or a bit longer.

Serve warm or cooled, it tastes great both ways.