Remy’s ratatouille vegetarian

Preparation – 45 minutes

This is not an authentic ratatouille, it's the ratatouille which Remy made in the animated film of the same name. This dish is officially a confit byaldi, but we thought it would be fun to recreate the dish from the film.

You can use a paler type of courgette, such as the Turkish courgette used in the recipe.

Preheat the oven to 230 degrees Celsius. Remove the seeds from the peppers and cut them in half. Place the peppers, cut side down, on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Roast the peppers in the oven for about 30 minutes. Once the peppers start to darken, let them cool until you can handle them.

Meanwhile, peel the onion and garlic cloves. Coarsely chop the onion and 3 of the garlic cloves; it doesn't matter how you cut them as they will be puréed. Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan and sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes, 3 sprigs of thyme and all the parsley. Cook gently over low heat for around 15 minutes. Remove the skin from the peppers and cut them into small pieces.

Add these to the frying pan and cook for about 5 minutes more. Remove the parsley and sprigs of thyme from the sauce. Purée to a smooth sauce with a stick blender (or a regular blender) and season with salt and pepper.

Spread the sauce over the bottom of an ovenproof dish.  

Finishing Remy's Ratatouille – 75 minutes

The vegetables need to be sliced very thin, so it's best to use a mandoline, vegetable slicer or a food processor with the right cutting blade for this.

Cut the aubergine, courgettes and tomatoes to exactly the same thickness. Finely chop the remaining garlic clove and strip the thyme leaves from their stalks. Add some olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Layer the thinly sliced vegetables alternately over the sauce. Do not leave too much space between the slices. Drizzle the garlic and thyme mixture over the vegetables. Cut a piece of baking parchment to exactly the size of the baking dish and place it on top of the vegetables.

Heat the oven again, this time to 140 degrees Celsius. Bake the ratatouille for around an hour, then check if the vegetables have cooked and softened enough. If you want a bit more colour, you can bake the vegetables for a little longer without the baking parchment cover.

For Remy's presentation, stack the vegetables against each other. Add a little balsamic vinegar to the tomato and pepper sauce to make it slightly darker and thinner.

Pour around a little of the sauce, and garnish with a thyme sprig or chives. Enjoy your meal!