While I am typing those words, it is cloudy and raining outside in West Sussex, UK. The autumn has come with its vibrant colours. while I am grateful for Summer’s warmth, abundance and endless light, I can’t help myself but opening my arms and welcoming autumn. I am eager to cook all the soups, wear jumpers and the lovely surprises of random warm weather autumn gives to us. It makes me feel calm, a sense of clarity and eagerness for self-care. Indeed, autumn is a season for self-care — whether it is reading a good book to inspire us or have a work during your afternoon breaks, or cooking some heart-warming soups. It is so down to earth and so human. Mentioning about soups, I am dedicating this post to one of my favourite soups to cook during autumn or anytime you need some vegetable boost in your diet.

Ratatouilles is one of the most versatile dishes out there. It is originally cooked by French farmers who were trying to use any left over vegetables from the summer. I normally cooked a big batch of it. It will makes 3 meals out of the batch – one meal with homemade focaccia, one meal with poached eggs on top and one meal with any type of pasta you like or you have in the cupboard. It is so simple to make but in return, it gives us so much back.

without further ado, here are my way to cook an amazing ratatouille.

what you need:

• 3 aubergines
• 2 courgettes
• 3 different colour sweet peppers
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 tinned tomatoes
• 2 red onions
• fresh basil
• dried oregano
• balsamic vingar
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

How to cook them:

The key to a delicious ratatouilles is to brown your vegetables (aubergines, courgettes and mixed peppers) first. You firstly cut the vegetables into chunks (size depending your liking) and fry them in a non-stick pan until you can see brown edges on the vegetables. It will make your life easier if you use a non-stick pan. Be patient and fry your vegetables in batches. You give the ratatouilles a depth of flours by simple browning the vegetables. This is really the main part of the job.

After you have done the browning, slice your onions and fry them in a deep sauce pan until soft; and then add garlic and the dried oregano. I love oregano so I normally give a big couple of pinches. Now, throw in all of your beautifully browned vegetables along with the fresh tomatoes and tinned tomatoes; finish it by add some salt and pepper (you always can adjust the taste later on) and the balsamic vinegar. Turn up the heat and let it rise to boil and then turn it down to low heat.

Now, it is time to enjoy the smell while it is cooking for about 30 minutes. The whole kitchen smells like ‘ratatouilles’ or should we say ‘autumn’.