Moroccan Ratatouille and Extras

Amateur hour with the camera that night. But this dish gets away with it, because it was absolutely delicious, and had a new addition that I had to mention - Almond and Chickpea Hummus! So the thick of this recipe is a delicious bed of Almond and Chickpea Hummus, with a citrus laced Moroccan Ratatouille, paired with a lime and carrot salad. I realized shortly afterwards that it was vegan, and packed full of flavour. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients (for 4ish)

For the Ratatouille

1 Aubergine, Diced into 1 inch cubes

2 Medium Courgettes, Diced, similar to the eggplant

200g Button Mushrooms, Quartered

2 Red Onions, Peeled and roughly chipped

1 Bulb of Garlic, peeled and minced

800g Crushed Italian Tomatoes

3 Teaspoons of Paprika

A bunch of Coriander, stalks minced and leaves set aside

Juice and zest of one Orange

1 Cup of white wine, Sauvignon Blanc or similar fruity wine

1 Teaspoon Tomato Paste

Salt

Pepper

Olive Oil

For the Hummus

2 Tins Brined Chickpeas, drained

250g Roasted Almonds

3 Tablespoons Hulled Tahini

1 Clove of Garlic

Juice of Two Lemons

Olive Oil

Salt

For the Salad

2 Carrots, juilenned

2 Bunches of Spinach, finely sliced

1/2 Red Onion, peeled and finely sliced

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Olive oil

1 Lime

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Method

In a large pot, pour a lug of olive oil. To it, add the garlic, onions and paprika. On a medium low heat, gently saute until soft. Once soft, add the orange juice, orange zest and wine. Cook until sticky.

Add the aubergine, courgettes, mushrooms and increase the heat to medium. Mix the onions in well with the vegetables. Add the tomatoes, then cover with water. Simmer until the eggplant is tender. Once it's tender, salt and pepper to taste. This will keep while you whip up the next two elements.

Hummus first. In a blender, put the chickpeas, almonds, tahini, garlic, and lemon juice. Start blending on a low speed and slowly add olive oil until it flows freely. (this will be quite a lot). Salt and pepper to taste.

For the salad, simply mix the carrots and spinach together. Then in a bowl, generously salt the onions, then massage the salt in, really bruise the onion. Leave it for five minutes then rinse them well, dry, and mix in with carrot and spinach. Dress with the lemon juice and some olive oil. Super light, slightly sour addition to the meal.

Serve it up, (better than I did) and spritz with lime juice.

Enjoy!