The Last Days of Summer

Temperatures are cooling a bit and the first sienna-coloured leaves are starting to appear on trees...what does this mean? That these are the very last days of Summer and that it's high time you light up that final barbecue of the season! ;)

Here's a simple and relatively quick recipe that you can make in advance and serve hot or cold as a lovely side-dish to the juicy grilled burgers, chicken, sausages, lamb and skewers sitting comfortably on the barbie. Ratatouille keeps well and is a definite way to get those 5-a-day. I like serving them piping hot with meat on the first day, and the next day serving it at room temperature with lots of crusty bread! Hmmm...tuck in guys!

Ratatouille

* Aubergine

* Zucchini

* Peppers - I prefer using red or orange because they taste sweeter than the green ones

* Canned chopped tomatoes

* Onion

* Garlic - crushed or pureed

* Salt, pepper

* Balsamic vinegar

* Basilic leaves, thyme or any herbs that you like

1. Wash the veg, cut them into half length-wise and dice them into medium-sized chunks. 

2. Heat up your pot, pan or utensil. Add a good glug of olive oil and let it heat up. Add the garlic, onions and let it sweat. Once they've started browning, add the aubergines first as they take longer to cook. Once it starts softening, add the rest of the veg and cook for 5-10 minutes.

3. When the veg start colouring a bit, splash a decent amount of balsamic vinegar (I think it adds a nice tangy kick to the flavours). Add the tinned tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and herbs. 

4. Turn down the heat, cover and let it simmer until 3/4 of the tomato juices have evaporated. Serve, kick back and imagine that you're in Provence...

Bon appetit!

Life is short, Eat!