Bastille Day Ratatouille : Pour Fraternité Avec Macron!

As part of our 'national celebrations' series, following the 4th July Pig's Ass, we have Bastille Day Ratatouille. Like Macron, it will be smooth, delicate yet satisfying, with just a little spice to keep things interesting. Best of all, c'est trop facile (translation : it's dead easy). Essentially you put everything in a big pan and go and read some Sartre for a few hours.

INGREDIENTS

One eggplant, diced.

Two onions, roughly chopped.

Two red bell peppers, chopped.

A dozen medium tomatos, cut in half.

Two sticks of celery (if you have them), chopped.

Three garlic cloves, just pealed and crushed and thrown in.

One tablespoon paprika

One tablespoon basil

Half a teaspoon of red chilli flakes

Half teaspoon salt

Half teaspoon pepper

One glass of red wine (a right bank Bordeaux like a St Emilion would be perfect).

One decent splash of Balsamic vinegar.

Two bay leaves, crushed.

METHOD

This is very easy. Throw everything in a pan, mix, and cover. A large heavy pan works best. Put on a medium heat and cook for at least an hour. The optimal way is a medium/low heat for three hours. Check sporadically to make sure nothing is getting too stuck to the bottom. If so, half a cup of water and a stir will do the trick. This normally is more of an issue at the start, before the juice of the vegetables has surrendered to the pan.

PRESENTATION

Dish up with a baguette and the rest of the wine. Vive le Macron et la France!