French inspiration

Sorry for my absence. I still have a post about Slovenia to write, and a few recipes to share, plus a few complains about the weather and my usual nonsense. But once again it won't be today. It's time for another short trip to Paris - I'll be joining a conference this week but didn't want to leave you all without a little something to evoke la cuisine française. My (british) friend N. always says that "if you want a perfect queue ask a briton, if you're craving for an awesome crumble trust a frenchie!" And from my experience N. is absolutely right! This Crumble à la Ratatouille is a nice version of a French classic dish in a traditional British fashion. All I can say is that everybody loved it, and I'll be making this again. À bientôt



Crumble à la ratatouille
Adapted from Trish Deseine, recipe here

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 aubergine, cubed
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 green pepper, cut into strips
3 courgettes, peeled if you like and cut into chunks
1 kg tomatoes, skinned and deseeded
Fresh thyme and rosemary

For the Crumble Topping
100g very cold salted butter,
finely diced
150g plain flour
80g parmesan cheese, grated
50g pine nuts, toasted
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic and add the aubergine and the red and green peppers. When they have softened, add the courgettes, tomatoes and herbs, some salt and pepper, and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until cooked. While the vegetables are cooking, preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF and prepare the crumble. In a food-processor, or with your fingers, rub the butter into the flour and parmesan. When you have a mixture resembling breadcrumbs, mix in the toasted pine nuts and some pepper. When the ratatouille is soft and cooked, put the vegetables into a gratin dish, cover them with the crumble mixture and cook in the oven for about thirty minutes or until the top is golden and crispy. Serve hot or warm, with a crisp salad.