I hope my dear readers realize that expert cooks, such as myself, often do not measure the ingredients for their recipes.
They just "know" how much to use of each item.
It is for that reason that this recipe might seem a bit lacking in content.

(I grew the long Asian aubergine from seed which a friend in the United States sent to me.
They call it "eggplant" across the pond.)
I like it very much because I can just slice it into bite-sized pieces.
The skin is very thin, so I don't have to peel it.
I also had a nice crop of small plum tomatoes, which you may know as "Roma" tomatoes, but there weren't enough for this dish so I added a large round tomato to it.
The peppers were mild yellow frying peppers, which I also grew.
I'm afraid that the borers got to my zucchini ( in French "courgettes", everything sounds so tasty if you say it in French, doesn't it?),
so I had to buy those in the market, where I also bought the mild onions I needed.

I have to allow at least an hour to prepare this recipe because it takes a lot of time to cut up each ingredient as well as to fry it separately.
You might be surprised that so much olive oil is used,
but that is a very healthful ingredient,
so I don't feel guilty using it - besides, it gives such a lovely sheen to my fur!"

VIOLET'S DIVINE RATATOUILLE
(about) 200 ml extra virgin olive oil (The aubergine, especially, will drink this up and you will have to add more)
500 gm zucchini (courgette) cut into 1/2 cm slices
500 gm aubergine (eggplant) cut into 1/2 cm slices
500 gm tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
about 300 gm frying peppers, sliced into bite-sized pieces (remove seeds and membranes from peppers)
3 medium sized mild onions cut into slivers
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped or mashed through a garlic press
1 bay leaf
salt
pepper, freshly ground, of course.

The vegetables are browned separately, sauteed in oil over medium to high heat.

Start with the onions and peppers. Once each is browned, combine them together into one pan and continue to cook slowly, covered. Add bay leaf, salt and pepper at this time.

Cook eggplant next (in another pan), remove it and follow with zucchini, then the tomatoes with the garlic.

In a large pan, combine all the ingredients and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

My nephew loves eating this over pasta, so that's the way I serve it to him.
It is often served with a nice crusty loaf of bread.

Hint: Should you find that your pan is turning brown and the vegetables are sticking to it, add the tiniest amount of water while you are frying.
Don't add too much.
Ratatouille should not be mushy!