Ratatouille with Crumb Topping

Ratatouille with Crumb Topping

Fillet of Sea Bream, Ratatouille and Roasted Baby Potatoes

I had a craving for vegetables so I decided to make a delicious ratatouille. This dish can end up quite mushy so to avoid this, make sure the vegetables aren't cut up too small. The breadcrumb topping on this particular recipe adds a lovely crunch.

 

Serves: 4

Ratatouille:
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 aubergine, chopped into chunks
1 red onion, quartered
1 red pepper, cut into chunks
1 courgette, halved then cut into chunks
Handful cherry tomatoes

A few sprigs rosemary

A few sprigs thyme
1 tin chopped tomatoes

Handful, capers

Olive oil

Sea salt & pepper

Crumb Topping:
300g spinach
15g roughly chopped basil
3 slices brown bread
Chunk of butter

Chunk of Parmesan, finely grated 

Heat the oven to 180º.  Place all ratatouille vegetables except the tinned tomatoes and capers in a dish, sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and black pepper and scatter with the fresh herbs. Roast for 35 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes and capers to the dish, stir the ingredients together and return to oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, lightly toast the bread and then place in a food processor and turn into crumbs. Wilt the spinach in a pan then add the bread along with the butter and basil. Stir until the butter is melted then remove from heat.

Add the crumb topping to the dish, sprinkle with Parmesan and return to oven for 10 minutes.

I served this with a fillet of sea bream, the vegetarian had a poached egg and we both had a few roasted baby potatoes. There were some leftovers from the ratatouille which I heated for lunch the next day.

Courgette Potato Rösti with Pan Fried Tomatoes: Goats Cheese or Chorizo

Courgette Potato Rösti with Pan Fried Tomatoes and Chorizo

Serves: 2

Rösti 

2 King Edward potatoes, peeled and grated
1 courgette, graded
Sprig of fresh rosemary
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper


Pan Fried Tomatoes: goats cheese or chorizo
Green salad leaves
Balsamic vinegar
V: Handful tomatoes
   Chunk of chèvre buche goats cheese 
M: Handful tomatoes
   Chunk of chorizo, cubed

Place the grated potato and courgette in a sieve and squeeze to get rid of excess moisture.

Heat a glug of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rosemary to the grated potato and courgette mix, season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and place half the mixture in the frying pan. Use a wooden spoon and press down to make a cake shape.

Fry the rösti for 3-4 minutes on each side until crisp and golden-brown. 

Remove from the pan and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest of the rösti mix.

Serve with a green garden salad and pan fried tomatoes.

Pan Fried Tomatoes: Goats Cheese or Chorizo

V: Pan fry the tomatoes in a glug of olive oil, dash of balsamic vinegar and seasoning for 5 minutes. Meanwhile grill the goats cheese for 5 minutes or until soft.

M: Pan fry the tomatoes and chorizo in a little olive oil, dash of balsamic vinegar and seasoning for 5 minutes.