Ratatouille

Basically a vegetable stew, ratatouille is a hearty and warming dish that can be served as a vegetable side or as a meal in itself (works well with rice, pasta, potatoes or some nice crusty bread). It's very easy to make, and you can vary the quantities of the ingredients or even miss some of them out if you don't have them. If you like meat, it goes well with grilled meats such as pork or lamb chops, kebabs ( the kind cooked on a skewer) or even burgers.

Chop one onion and fry in a tablespoon of oil (ideally olive oil, if you want to be authentic) in a large saucepan. While the onions are cooking, chop one aubergine, two courgettes, one pepper (any colour) and two cloves of garlic. You can chop the veg coarsely if you like a chunky ratatouille with more discernible vegetables. By now the onions should be soft, so add the chopped vegetables, together with a tin of chopped tomatoes, a shake of dried mixed herbs, a good squirt of tomato ketchup, and salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to the boil, put the lid on, turn down to simmer, and leave to cook for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer you cook it the more the vegetables break down and mingle.

And there it is, your 5 a day in one meal! Serve and enjoy! This recipe serves 4-6 people as a side, or 3-4 as a meal in itself.

Notes:

• If you have fresh basil, you can chop some leaves and stir in before serving.

• you can use frozen chopped mixed peppers, instead of fresh; they are often cheaper when peppers are out of season.

• leftovers can be frozen, they can be re-served as above after reheating and also make a good base for a soup, or you can add to a casserole to bulk it up.