Brazilian Style Aubergine Ratatouille with Green Olive Farofa
Serves: 4
Chef Top Tip
"This Brazilian inspired classic French dish is topped with a crispy, green olive infused cassava topping, which is an extremely popular condiment served with lots of Brazilian dishes. The cassava flour is fried in oil to give a nutty crunchy texture; if you can’t source it don’t despair, the ratatouille is delicious on its own!"
Ingredients
- 100ml sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 4 medium or large aubergines
- 2 onions
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tsp freshly chopped oregano (or ½ tsp dried)
- 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes, in juice
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
For the farofa:
- 75g cassava flour
- 100ml sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 50g pitted green olives, finely chopped
Method
For the ratatouille:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
- Slice the aubergine into 1cm thick slices and fry them in batches in the hot oil until golden; remove them onto kitchen towel to remove excess grease.
- In another pan, heat a little of the oil and when hot, add the onion and garlic - cooking for 5 minutes until beginning to soften.
- Add the spices, cook together for further 5 minutes, before adding the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree.
- Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 175c
- Place a bed of cooked aubergine on the base of a 25cm ovenproof dish, spoon over some of the tomato mix , then top with another layer of aubergine.
- Continue this way, finishing with a layer of aubergine on the top.
To prepare the farofa:
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, when hot, add the onion and garlic and fry until lightly golden
- Add the cassava flour and keep in moving in the pan until it becomes lightly toasted and crunchy.
- Add the green olives and season to taste.
- Sprinkle the farofa over the aubergine dish and then transfer it to the oven to bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving.
All products marked in bold are available to purchase through Vegetarian Express.