One Version of Ratatouille

I think that, on one side of my family, we know that each family has got a different version of ratatouille: olives or no olives? Aubergine or no aubergine?

So, I'm going to give you one version (not the one from my Provençal [h]ex, the one my mamma got during a stay in the south with friends).

First, the cast:

So, you'll need:

1 onion

1 aubergine

1 big sweet pepper (or 2 small ones of different colours)

2 or 3 courgettes (it all depends on the size - I usually take the weight of the aubergine as a reference and double it)

2 or 3 tomatoes

salt

pepper

black olives - optional

1- Cut the onion (small bits, thin slices, I never do the same thing twice, so just do what you prefer when it comes to onions) and put it in a big pot with olive oil.

Cook over a low heat.

 

2- Cut the sweet pepper in small bits (once more, cut as you like your sweet peppers on your plate) and add them to the onion.

You'll probably have to add some oil.

3- Cut the aubergine (guess what? Yes! Cut it the way you like it best).

What I started doing is cutting a few round slices, for fun, and then I cut the aubergine in two and cut it in rather small bits.

Add it to the pot.

Stir a bit, and add salt and pepper then.

4- Now, it's time to turn to the courgettes.

For fun, I cut one in full, round slices:

and the rest in small bits:

Let them join their friends in the pot.

You may have to add some salt (and pepper). Check that.

5- Cut the tomatoes in somewhat smallish bits, and add them:

This is here that you should add olives if you want.

Since the moment you started with the onion, about twenty/twenty-five minutes have passed. Can I give you a cooking time? Approximately. According to the vegetables you did pick, you'll have to keep cooking your ratatouille for fifteen to twenty minutes more. Courgettes and aubergine should be your guides in this; they should be soft (and almost translucent for the round slices - they're hidden testing devices in the pot!).

It should vaguely look like this:

Bon appétit !

ps: if you're feeling bold, you can add grounded hot pepper. Yum (totally unconventional, but if one cannot experiment in the kitchen...).