I absolutely love roasted Mediterranean vegetables, especially ratatouille, and this dish takes them to another level.

Chargrilling a whole load of veggies then layering up with a tomato sauce and cheese makes a normal side dish of vegetables an absolute winner. Also giving the presentation a little more thought than a pile of normal stewed ratatouille gives it even more wow.

This dish is perfect to prep in advance, so you can just shove it in the oven 30 minutes before it’s needed.

Serve along roast chicken or fish or even serve by itself with a green salad and bread – absolutely delicious!

Recipe

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large courgette 

1 large auberinge

2 peppers

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 jar of crushed tomatoes or passata

1 small bunch of basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp sugar

A splosh of red wine vinegar

50g grated Parmesan

50g grated cheese (any is fine, I used cheddar as that’s what I had)

Salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 180c.

Slice the courgette, aubergine and peppers (about 1/2 cm thick).

Heat a large griddle pan until hot and char-grill the vegetables, a single layer at a time and drizzling with a little olive oil and salt and pepper on each, until brown on each side. You will need to do this in batches. Once all cooked leave to one side.

Next fry the onion in the remaining oil until soft (don’t cook it too fast, you want it sweet, not burnt) and then add the garlic. Cook for a few more minutes and then add in the tomatoes, basil, oregano, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes on a moderate heat to reduce it slightly.

In a shallow dish, put a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom and then layer the vegetables in a nice order on top. Top with the rest of the tomato sauce then sprinkle over most of the cheese (reserve a sprinkle of Parmesan for the top). Layer the rest of the vegetables again in a nice pattern on top of the cheese, season with some salt and pepper and sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top.

Bake for 30 minutes until bubbling up the edges.