The Ratatouille is one of the quintessential French dishes. Simple and nutritious, properly cooked can be converted into a veritable explosion of flavors.

This dish from the region of Nice, in southern France, is much more than a vegetable soup. It can be prepared by adding the ingredients slowly, although it can develop faster cooking ingredients all at once but having careful to add them in the proper sequence to maintain the flavor of the dish.

Ingredients for 12 people:

• 1.5 kilos of tomatoes
• 700 grams of eggplant
• 500 grams of zucchini
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1 kilo of onions
• 700 grams of peppers
• 140 grams of tomato puree
• A dash of olive oil
• Pinch of salt and ground black pepper
• A pinch of herbs of Provence, parsley, thyme, basil.

Preparation:

1. Cut the eggplant and zucchini slices.
2. Clean and cut the peppers and onions into very thin strips.
3. Wash, peel and empty inside of the tomatoes.
4. Pour some olive oil in a saucepan and add the eggplant, peppers, zucchini and onions after adding a little flour to the zucchini and eggplant slices.
5. Cook everything for about 30 minutes until the ingredients are tender.
6. In another pan add a little olive oil, the teeth of garlic chopped very small and the spices. Add tomatoes with flowing hand and cook over very low heat everything until a thick sauce.
7. Add the vegetables from the other pan to ketchup and mix. If necessary remove excess oil remaining on the mixture.

The best of the Ratatouille is that you can eat as much hot, like soup and starter or main dish, as cold being the perfect accompaniment to a variety of dishes from meat to rice or interfere as a main dish in the hot summer days. In addition, the ratatouille can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days.