Vegetable ratatouille (Pisto de verduras in Spanish)
A real classic in the cookery world, isn’t it? Besides, everybody is capable of preparing a vegetable ratatouille as long as you have an hour to spare. And that’s not an eternity.
The idea of ‘pisto’ has many interpretations. By that, we mean that you won’t find a universal recipe but instead, hundreds and hundreds of variations.
The one that we’re going to suggest is really easy, really healthy and really cheap.
Vegetable raratouille is the ideal accompaniment for any main dish. But there are also those who prefer it as a first course with bread.
By the way, here’s an interesting fact about our area. In the Mountains of Alicante, where our groves are to be found, we sometimes call this vegetable rataouille ‘espencat’. In Catalonia it’s called ‘esgarraet’. It’s not exactly the same in our opinion but that’s not a problem.
We’re not going to waste any more time. Le’s get started on the ingredients. We’ve planned the dish for 4 people.
Ingredients
- 400 gr ripe tomatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 red pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 1 courgette
- 1 clove of garlic
- 50 ml. white wine
- Salt to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
Preparation
- Wash all of the vegetables carefully. (There can always be something on them from transporting)
- Dice them in small pieces
- Cut the garlic up very finely
- Take a frying pan. Add some olive oil and heat it.
- Once it’s hot, fry the onion until golden. After, add the peppers, the garlic and mix well.
- Now it’s time to add the salt. Don’t overdo it. After the salt, add a dash of white wine.
- Cover the pan, turn the gas down low and leave it for approximately half and hour.
- After this time, add the courgette. Stir it a few times and leave it on a low gas for another 20 minutes.
- Now, pass the previously diced tomatoes through a blender and then add them to the frying pan.
- Mix all together again. Taste to see if there’s enough salt and correct, if need be. Cover and leave for another 20 minutes.
- There you have it. Now all you’ve got to do is let it cool down and eat it the way you like most.
One of the secrets for achieving a really good vegetable ratatouille is to use first rate raw ingredients and with the best extra virgin olive oil.
Here, we’ve chosen High Quality because it’s an extra vrirgin olive oil which is very well balanced and passes on the identity of the land.
The second secret for the best ratatouille is to have a bit of patience because between one thing and another, it’s going to take you about 90 minutes. But the vegetables have to cook on a low gas so as not to lose their taste. You’ll see how that the hour and a half of your time has been well spent.
One last thing: You can make as much ratatouille as you like and keep it in the fridge or you can even freeze it.