Right back to basics

  The backbone of my earliest culinary influence comes from the cooking found around the Mediterranean, mainly from France and Italy. My first exposure to it was such a long time ago that it feels as natural to me as walking.

  Very little qualifies as more of a fundamental recipe of classical French Mediterranean cooking than the magnificent ratatouille. At it's most basic it is a pile of vegetables stewed in their own juices, a lot of which are provided by tomatoes. If you've not experienced one, that is a situation that needs to be rapidly rectified.

Let the simmering commence.

  If this recipe sounds simple, that's kind of the point; it's honest peasant food and a rich warm hug of a dish, which hits the spot, even in summer. Some salmon in my fridge needed an accompaniment and before I knew it, huge chunks of onion were starting to sizzle in a small lake of olive oil in a large saucepan.

  They were joined, in no particular order, by mushrooms, courgettes, aubergine, peppers and a couple of tins of tomatoes. Before they got left to simmer, a generous sprinkle of oregano and basil went in as well as a heap of garlic. The secret is to let it cook. Any attempts to rush will result in a bitter dish and if anyone suggests that sugar is an ingredient, you'll know immediately they haven't worked out how to cook it properly, e.g. slowly. At least a thirty minute simmer is needed. I cooked mine for about forty five.

  If you look carefully above, you can see it peeking out from under the salmon. As with the ratatouille, everything on the plate is nice and simple and wouldn't look out of place served up in a little bistro not far from Juan les Pins, being served with one of the local bottles of rosé. Care to join me?

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Kirk out

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