Vegetable ratatouille: a light, tasty and colorful recipe

Vegetable ratatouille: preparation tips

Ratatouille is nothing more than a mixture of fresh vegetables: eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onions, and peppers, which, however, must be chosen and prepared in the right way.

• Tomatoes: we recommend you use coppery ones, also known as "bunched" tomatoes, which are flavorful and have firm flesh and are not likely to fall apart during cooking.
• Eggplants: best suited for the purpose are the elongated ones, perfect for slicing. Remember to drain them first: cut them and arrange the slices a plate, sprinkle them with coarse salt, cover them with something heavy and let them rest at least 1 hour before using them.
• Zucchini: For ratatouille, the classic "black zucchini," i.e., the dark green, fairly large, cylindrical zucchini found in all supermarkets, is fine; its tender flesh, with very few seeds, is well suited to the recipe.
• Peppers: either red or yellow are fine; the important thing is to remove seeds and filaments inside them before cooking them.
• Onions: again, both classic and red onions are fine. The latter are more delicate and digestible, so more suitable for those who do not like too strong flavors.

Ratatouille and extra virgin olive oil: a perfect match! 

Precisely because it is a simple and healthy dish made exclusively from fresh vegetables, it takes an equally wholesome condiment such as extra virgin olive oil to flavor ratatouille, which is ideal in the kitchen because:

In raw form it gives an extra touch of flavor to any dish, without weighing it down.
In cooking it holds up well to high temperatures, without "burning," and is very suitable for pan or casserole preparations. That said, extra virgin olive oil is also very healthy:

• Its "good" fats help regulate blood cholesterol levels and do not burden the liver.
• The antioxidants inside fight free radicals, slowing cellular aging.

For the ratatouille recipe, we used Farchioni Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, cold-pressed, made exclusively from organically grown olives selected from the best growing areas. This oil is suitable for all uses in cooking and, by virtue of its delicacy, gives flavor to dishes without covering the flavor of the other ingredients.