Mediterranean ratatouille recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 1 medium eggplant
• salt
• 2 red sweet banana peppers or red peppers
• 1⁄2 yellow bell pepper
• 1⁄2 green bell pepper
• 1 beefsteak tomato
• 1⁄2 zucchini
• 1⁄4 white onion
• 1⁄2 bunch flat-leaf parsley
• 2 sprigs thyme, plus a few extra, to decorate
• 2 sprigs marjoram or 1 tsp dried marjoram

• 1⁄2 red pepper
• 2 beefsteak tomatoes
• 1⁄2 cucumber
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp agave syrup
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Juice the lemon. Cut the eggplant into bite-size pieces, place it in a bowl, and add 1 teaspoon salt and the lemon juice. Stir to combine. Cover the bowl and let marinate for 30 minutes.
2. In the meantime, prepare the peppers by cutting out the stems, seeding, and removing the pith. Cut out the tomato stem. Slice the peppers, tomato, and zucchini into bite-size pieces. Peel and dice the onion. Pick the herb leaves and chop them.
3. Put all the ingredients for the vegetables into a large bowl, toss well to combine, and let them marinate briefly. In the meantime, to make the sauce, finely dice the red pepper and the tomatoes. Cut the unpeeled cucumber into pieces. Peel the garlic. Place the vegetables and the remaining sauce ingredients into a blender or food processor. Purée for 1–2 minutes on the highest setting.
4. Toss the sauce and the sliced vegetables, and season with salt and pepper. Divide the ratatouille between the plates, and garnish with sprigs of thyme. Mushroom rice goes very well with the ratatouille as a side dish.