Ratatouille

Ratatouille is one of those dishes from southern France (Provence) that can be oh, so very good, or oh, so very bad. This is a sort of recipe. 

It's a great way to use late summer vegetables - zucchini, eggplant, onions, sweet peppers and tomatoes all meld into a delectable dish. And I've found that it can be frozen successfully - it loses a little of the texture, but not much and if baked with a cheese topping - mmmm good. Of course, fresh is best.

The way I make it takes awhile, so I like to make a big batch and have leftovers. Basically all the vegetables are cut into pieces and sauteed slowly until tender. I like to saute each vegetable separately, in olive oil, each with a separate herb and salt.

Onions - thyme

Red or Orange Peppers - rosemary

Zucchini - oregano

Eggplant - just salt and pepper

Tomatoes - garlic

Combine all the sauteed vegetables and then add a good squeeze of lemon juice and perhaps some finely chopped mint.

I could eat just this for dinner, or lunch, by itself. But paired with some crusty bread and a hunk of cheese - perfection!