The perfect ratatouille

I cook this recipe overnight in a cooling cooker, because I can. You can do it in a very low oven instead.

Ingredients

• 2–3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 1–2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped into 2 cm dice
• 1 green capsicum, seeded and chopped into 2 cm dice
• 1 large eggplant, chopped into 2 cm dice
• 2 medium zucchini, chopped into 1.5 cm dice
• 2 strips lemon rind, thinly sliced
• 125 g Swiss brown mushrooms, quartered
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 120°C.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based, ovenproof saucepan over low heat and fry the onion for about 10 minutes, but really you can just fry it as long as it takes to chop the other ingredients. 

Add the garlic to the pan after the onions. Then add the capsicum, then the eggplant and zucchini, lemon rind, mushrooms and tomato. Season well with salt and pepper, put the lid on (or cover with aluminium foil), and cook in the oven for several hours. It’s okay after 2, good after 4 and even better after 6.

Image by Benito Martin. Styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by O Tama Carey. Creative concept by Belinda So.

I cook this recipe overnight in a cooling cooker, because I can. You can do it in a very low oven instead.