Summer Sides part 2: Grilled Ratatouille

I'm experiencing a rediscovery of my Jamie Oliver books this past week. My friend Jayne has raved about his food revolution book. It seems her family cannot get enough of his recipes, so I decided to pull out one of my old Jamie books and get inspired. My current obsession is Jamie's Dinners. I want to make nearly every recipe in there and I'm not quite sure why I haven't!

Anyway, it was Jamie who assisted my latest ratatouille creation last weekend. I'd really been craving this dish and so wanted to make sure it wasn't a let down when I made it. Not to mention I was serving it to our wonderful neighbors for dinner. As it was a fiercely hot weekend here in the northeast, I opted to cook the whole recipe on the grill. I just used my roasting tin as my pan and my grill as an oven. It all worked out just fine. You can, of course, use your oven at 375°F/ 190°C.

Ratatouille

(loosely based on Jamie's Dinners: Grilled and Tray Baked ratatouille with white fish)

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 red peppers, chopped into bitesized pieces

1 red onion, halved and sliced

2 medium eggplants, chopped into bitesized chunks

6 zucchini and or summer squash, chopped into bitesized chunks

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

handful of fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

1 large (1lb 12oz/ 800g) can of whole tomatoes, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the grill on medium
2. Heat the roasting pan on the grill and add some olive oil
3. Add the onion and leave to cook for approx 10 mins, stirring once
4. Add the eggplants, zucchini, garlic and peppers.
5. Cook for approx 6 minutes, stirring a few times
6. Add the tomatoes, half the basil, bay leaves, red wine vinegar and some pepper
7. Reduce the grill to low and cook for approx 30 minutes, stirring occasionally
8. Serve with the remaining basil tossed on top

Enjoy!