So, I'm trying to eat healthier and lose weight, and that means I need to start cooking different things to eat, because most of my staples are pretty fattening
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This is how I always make it. It produces a thick glop which is generally very well received -- there are no doubt exceptions, but if you don't like this then you probably just don't like ratatouille, full stop.
When "frying" everything, be gentle. The dish doesn't take much effort to prepare, but it works better if it has a good hour or two to cook.
Take one saucepan. Chop two onions (one if it's really big) into the pan, and and gently fry in a bit of (olive?) oil for five minutes or so. Chop one or two red bell peppers into the pan and let 'em fry with the onions for a while longer. Chop up a small-ish aubergine, add that to the mix, and let it all gently mulch and fry on a low heat for a while.
Meanwhile, into another saucepan, chop up a courgette and lots of garlic and let that fry too, very gently, until the courgettes are kinda a bit soft and on the squidgy side. Definitely don't overdo this pan.
Tip everything into the same pan. Add plenty of chopped tinned tomatoes (two cans maybe), and extra tomato material like tomato passata or tomato purée or both. You can't really have too much tomato in it. Add a hefty pinch of herbes de Provence, black pepper, two or three bay leaves, a cautious pinch of sugar, and however much salt you care for.
Leave it on a low heat to simmer for twenty minutes or half an hour or so.
At this point it's basically ready, but I usually find it's still not quite "filled out". At this point it gets intuitive -- there are various things you can do to give it more body. Lovage is good, but my super secret ingredient is fish sauce.
I usually include ratatouille in meals consisting of three dishes; for example, chicken and ratatouille and rice.
When "frying" everything, be gentle. The dish doesn't take much effort to prepare, but it works better if it has a good hour or two to cook.
Take one saucepan. Chop two onions (one if it's really big) into the pan, and and gently fry in a bit of (olive?) oil for five minutes or so. Chop one or two red bell peppers into the pan and let 'em fry with the onions for a while longer. Chop up a small-ish aubergine, add that to the mix, and let it all gently mulch and fry on a low heat for a while.
Meanwhile, into another saucepan, chop up a courgette and lots of garlic and let that fry too, very gently, until the courgettes are kinda a bit soft and on the squidgy side. Definitely don't overdo this pan.
Tip everything into the same pan. Add plenty of chopped tinned tomatoes (two cans maybe), and extra tomato material like tomato passata or tomato purée or both. You can't really have too much tomato in it. Add a hefty pinch of herbes de Provence, black pepper, two or three bay leaves, a cautious pinch of sugar, and however much salt you care for.
Leave it on a low heat to simmer for twenty minutes or half an hour or so.
At this point it's basically ready, but I usually find it's still not quite "filled out". At this point it gets intuitive -- there are various things you can do to give it more body. Lovage is good, but my super secret ingredient is fish sauce.
I usually include ratatouille in meals consisting of three dishes; for example, chicken and ratatouille and rice.
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