Ratatouille that even picky kids will love!

Can you guess what evil powers hide in this innocent-looking tomato sauce? I served it a few days ago to my kids - while we adults were eating ratatouille. Well, at least our kids couldn’t guess it was actually their official number one least favourite dish. Pureeing ratatouille was a great tip I learned from a friend, and it really works. I don’t know how long it will take for my little ones to figure out my little secret, but hopefully by then they are as addicted to ratatouille as I am!

For about 4 portions you need

• one medium-sized onion, chopped


• 1 courgette and eggplant each, cut into smallish cubes


• 2-3 peppers (I prefer using 1 green and 2 red ones), cut into squares


• 500g tomatoes, peeled and chopped


• 2-3 garlic cloves


• juice of half of a lemon


• 2 tsp agave syrup


• salt and pepper to taste


• olive oil

Sauté the onions in olive oil, then add peppers, fry a couple of minutes, then add eggplants and courgettes and fry and additional 5-7 minutes. Now, add tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice and agave syrup, and salt and pepper. Let simmer over medium to low heat at least 45 minutes. Serve with pasta, rice, couscous, or a good bread! For kids (or any picky adults ;) ) puree it and serve with pasta - I love fusilli because the sauce penetrates the pasta in a way even my littlest one can’t possibly get the sauce out..!

If you’re making ratatouille in winter, use canned tomatoes instead. It might not be exactly as good as with fresh ones, but it is still very tasty!

Pasta with Tomato Sauce

It's amazing how good the simplest dishes can taste if you make them out of premium-quality seasonal veggies. One great example is tomato sauce for pasta: it may taste good when you use canned tomatoes, but there's no comparison to the one made with seasonal fresh ones. I'm lucky to live practically next door to an organic farm that sell the best beefsteak tomatoes ever this time of the year. They're great for salads, ratatouille, and for all kinds of tomato-based sauces. I first cooked this sauce last summer, and it was a success! My family wouldn't believe me when I told them what was in it. "There must be something else! It can't be that simple!" Oh yes, it can..

So, for four hungry people you'll need two medium-sized onions, about 1 kg of tomatoes (I used to of those giant ones, each one weighing a bit less than 500 grams), 2-3 garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and any herbs you might want to use - my favourite ones being parsley, basil and oregano. This time I used rosemary from a friend's garden.

Sauté the chopped onions in olive oil over medium heat, then add garlic, and after a while peeled, chopped tomatoes and salt and pepper. You can add herbs already at this point - it's up to you! Then let simmer over medium or low heat for at least one hour, and serve with your favourite kind of pasta, topped with some Parmesan cheese and herbs.

The taste is slightly different if you're using butter instead of or in addition to olive oil. It's worth giving it a try!