Ratatouille Pasta with Secret Ingredients

Let me just say this outright, once and for all: I don't like courgette. It has a weird texture. I don't see the point of courgette. In fact, I wouldn't mind if courgettes died out, so no one will ever again get away with serving it. Especially the vegetarians. 

So, my 'ratatouille' pasta has a different balance. The emphasis lies on the aubergine, the texture of which I do love (when it's cooked right). When stewed slowly in tomato sauce it can get a meaty, hearty, but silken texture that is to die for. It's a perfect ingredient for a Turkish or Greek stew, for an Indian curry, or even for a basic pasta sauce.

Ingredients (plenty for 4)

2 onions

4 cloves of garlic

2 tomatoes

2 aubergines

2 peppers (somewhere on the red/yellow spectrum)

200 grams of close capped button mushrooms

200 grams of chopped tomatoes (tin/carton)

A tablespoon of tomato paste

Olive oil

Italian seasoning (basil, oregano)

Half a teaspoon of salt

Pepper

500 grams of (dried) rigatoni pasta

Secret Ingredients

1 stock cube

A knob of butter

100 grams of a mixture of Parmesan and (organic) cheddar cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large pan to medium heat. Chop the onions and garlic and stew until the onions are soft and translucent. Meanwhile, chop up the (fresh) tomatoes, aubergines and peppers into 1-inch cubes. Put in the pan and add a generous helping of salt (it helps extract water from the aubergine, which makes the texture nicer), some fresh pepper and the Italian seasoning. Add some more oil and stir. Now chop up the mushrooms into quarters. Add the mushrooms, the chopped tomatoes (from your tin/carton), tomato paste and stock cube to the stew. Stir again. Turn the heat up until the sauce starts bubbling away and then reduce the heat. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes (or more). Drink a bottle of red. Return to your cooking. Cook the pasta with a bit of salt. Drain. Add the pasta to the sauce. Grate in the cheese. Add the butter. Stir. Serve.