Ratatouille Pasta

Refreshing, rich and so summerish – Ratatouille Pasta. An easy method how to prepare the rich pasta sauce. You can also serve it with meat or rice, of course. Seasonal vegetables, anything the summer has to offer – eggplants, courgettes, tomatoes, paprika, etc. No limits to imagination. Have a summer blast and enjoy!

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Shopping List

3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 large eggplant, washed and diced
1 medium zucchini, washed and diced
1 handfuls of quality bacon, sliced
1 medium shallot, peeled and finely chopped
100g of chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and diced
½ cup of good quality red wine
500g of pressed tomatoes
5 large capers, sliced
Sea salt and ground black pepper

4 portions of desirable pasta (Spaghetti, Penne or Fusilli)
1 handful of fresh basil and Parmesan Cheese to serve

Instructions

First, heat up the olive oil in a large frying pan. Eggplant in. Sauté for about 5 minutes, then season with sea salt and continue for another 2 minutes.
Add another splash of olive oil. Zucchini in, sauté for about 2-3 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
Next, shallot and bacon in. Sweat it out for about 5 minutes until it starts getting nicely golden.
Stir in the mushrooms. Taste and season accordingly with salt and pepper.
Baste with a red wine and reduce.

Pour in tomatoes and give it a good stir. Add capers and lower the heat to low.
Put the lid on, stir occasionally and cook for about 1 hour. Taste and season if necessary.

The sauce is ready when the vegetables are really soft and all becomes a beautiful homogenous sauce. Then, you can cook the pasta in salted hot boiling water until al dente.

When the pasta is ready, stir it gently into the sauce with 1 large spoon of the pasta water. Finish with fresh basil, Parmesan Cheese and a glass of red wine.

Makes 3 serves.