Baked Ratatouille with Butter Bean Mash : Colourful and Tasty

I know many readers are vegetarian, while others choose to eat meatless once or twice a week. Menu plans are always a personal choice. Today's recipe suggestion is for 'baked ratatouille with butter bean mash', a vegetarian dish full of flavour and goodness, which can be easily adapted for meat (or fish) lovers. Just add chicken/sausages/fish etc. of your choice!

It's a spin on the classic French stew, this healthy traybake is the perfect choice for getting more veggies into your diet. Roasting the veg allows them to develop rich flavours that go perfectly with the creamy butter bean mash. It is nice served with fresh basil leaves.

Ingredients

Serves Four
2 courgettes (zucchini), sliced into 1cm rounds
3 peppers, de-seeded and cut into bite-sized chunks
3 red onions, thickly sliced
250g salad/vine tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp herbes de Provence
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 x 400g tins butter beans, drained and rinsed
10g fresh basil

Method
1. Preheat the oven to gas 6, 200°C, fan 180°C. Toss the courgettes (zucchini), peppers, onions and salad/vine tomatoes with 1 tbsp oil, the herbs and garlic in a large roasting dish; season. Bake for 15 mins, then stir in the tinned tomatoes. Bake for 20-25 mins until the veg is tender.
2. Scoop out the garlic and squeeze into a saucepan, discarding the papery skins. Add 50ml water, 1 tbsp oil and the beans; heat through over a low heat for 5 mins. Mash or blitz in a food processor until thick and creamy, adding a little more water if needed.
3. Divide the mash between 4 plates and spoon over the ratatouille. Tear over the basil leaves to serve.

Nutrition Per Serving

Fat 10g Carbohydrate 33.7g Protein 12.6g Fibre 9.8g Salt 0.4g
From original idea here

Herbes de Provence (or herbs de Provence) is an aromatic blend of dried Provençal herbs and spices. It originated in the Provence region of Southern France, so it's most commonly associated with French cuisine.
Herbs de Provence Ingredients
Commercial herbes de Provence blends usually include; Marjoram, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Savoury Bay leaf.
French herbs de Provence blends do not typically include lavender, but the fragrant leaves are often found in North American blends.
You can use the earthy mix of herbs and spices whenever and wherever you need a bit of Provençal flavour. For instance in this Chicken Provençal recipe

~ enjoy your November days ~

Dear reader, you will find a variety of recipe ideas within this blog, and not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter. If you have any concerns about your health, it is always advisable to consult your doctor or health care team.

All the best Jan