Georgina Hayden's Pappa al Ratatouille: A Taste of the Mediterranean
If you fancy a taste of the Mediterranean, Georgina Hayden's pappa al ratatouille is packed with summer flavour. The recipe, from her latest book MEDesque, is inspired by her love of Italian pappa pomodoro (tomato and bread soup) but with French and Spanish influences.
While simple to prepare, the rustic soup is surprisingly luxurious. “It’s so, so delicious, though it’s very humble and it doesn’t look like much. It becomes so creamy that it’s hard to believe it contains no dairy,” says Hayden. As the bread breaks down into the vegetable juices, the soup develops a thick velvety texture. She adds that ingredients can be tweaked according to whatever seasonal veg you have to hand.
Dairy-Free Recipes
Pesto salmon and asparagus makes a quick and healthy midweek meal. Shelina Permalloo’s chicken peri peri traybake is another option.
“If you’ve got a glut of lovely late-summer veg, it’s just stunning, a great make-do-and-mend style soup. If you don’t have a courgette, don’t worry about it; if you have more peppers, just shove them in. Make it to your tastes,” says Hayden.
Pappa al Ratatouille
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 red peppers
- 1 aubergine
- 2 courgettes
- ½ bunch of thyme
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 125g stale bread, ideally ciabatta
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Start by prepping all the vegetables: peel and finely slice the garlic; halve the peppers, remove the seeds and finely slice; peel the aubergine in stripes, leaving some of the skin on, and cut into small cubes of around 1.5cm; cut the courgettes the same size. Pick the thyme leaves.
- Place a large saucepan or flameproof casserole over a medium heat and pour in four tablespoons of olive oil, then add the garlic.
- Fry for a minute before adding all the rest of the prepared vegetables, the sugar and most of the thyme.
- Season generously and fry for 15 to 20 minutes, over a medium-high heat, until the vegetables are coloured and starting to soften.
- Add the tomatoes to the pan, pour in 800ml of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and leave to simmer for around 30 minutes, until the soup has thickened and is rich.
- Tear the bread into small chunks and stir into the soup. Cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Stir in two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve with the remaining thyme sprinkled over the top.
This article contains affiliate links and we may receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more. Save 50% on MEDesque by Georgina Hayden, now £13 on Amazon. Dishes inspired by Italy, Spain, the Middle East and beyond. 5 Ingredients: Mediterranean by Jamie Oliver is less than half price at Blackwells, now £12.66. Features 125 easy-to-follow recipes with added va-va-voom. Good Food: Mediterranean Dishes costs £6.99 at Waterstones. Triple-tested recipes with full-page colour photos from the team at BBC Good Food Magazine. Save 28% on The Tucci Cookbook by Stanley Tucci now £17.90 on Amazon. Nearly 200 recipes and stories from the actor's family kitchen. Prices correct at the time of publication.
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