Stewed Zucchini and Eggplant in Tomato Sauce

Fry the vegetables

1. I made these stewed vegetables from seasonal young zucchini, eggplants, and sweet peppers, and the sauce came from onion and the pulp of very ripe tomatoes. The nice thing is that the whole set can be bought at a local market or picked from the garden. The dish turns out very tasty, a bit like a more elaborate lecho with eggplant, peppers, and zucchini. You can eat it warm or let it cool, as you like.

2. Peel the onion and cut it into very thick strips, almost wedges. This is how apples are cut for charlotte.

   

3. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a skillet and fry the sliced onion until it just starts to turn golden.

4. Peel the sweet pepper and cut it into large pieces. You can use any pepper that’s available at that time of year.

5. Add the pepper slices to the onion and keep frying the vegetables.

   

6. I recommend making the stewed vegetables slightly spicy. Add a hot pepper pod cut into rings, to taste.

7. Fry until the onion is soft and nicely browned and the pepper is lightly fried but keeps the shape of its pieces. Transfer the vegetables to a separate plate.

   

8. Add 1 tbsp oil to the skillet.

9. Wash and dry the zucchini and trim the ends. Cut it crosswise into rounds 1.5–2 cm thick.

10. Fry the zucchini pieces on both sides until golden. Don’t cook the zucchini until soft, or it will fall apart in the finished dish. When served, the zucchini pieces should be al dente. Transfer the fried zucchini to a plate.

    

11. Wash the eggplants and trim the ends. Cut them crosswise into pieces 2–2.5 cm thick.

12. Drizzle the eggplant pieces with 2 tbsp vegetable oil and toss. I do this because eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge when frying. Sometimes frying a couple of eggplants can use up a whole cup of oil, which makes stewed vegetables far too high in calories.

13. Fry the eggplant on both sides until golden. You can stir the pieces with a spatula, like fried potatoes.

    

Stew in tomatoes

1. Now add the fried onion with pepper back to the skillet.

2. Cut the zucchini rounds into a few pieces so their size isn’t too different from the other vegetables. Add the zucchini to the skillet.

3. Season the vegetables with pepper and a little salt. I recommend adding 0.5 tsp sweet ground paprika and 1 tsp sugar (5 g).

   

4. While the vegetables are frying, scald a few very ripe tomatoes with boiling water. Then peel off the skin.

5. Remove the seeds and any white inner parts. Blend the tomato pulp into a puree.

6. Finely chop 1–2 garlic cloves and add them to the fried vegetables.

7. Pour the tomato puree over the vegetables and stir.

   

8. Put the skillet on the heat and warm it until the liquid starts to show signs of simmering.

9. Cover the skillet with a lid and reduce the heat. Stir occasionally and stew the vegetables under the lid for about 40 mins. Most likely you won’t need to add any liquid, but if necessary you can pour in a few tablespoons of water.

10. At the very end, taste the sauce. You may need a little more salt and pepper.

    When the stewed vegetables are done, you can clearly see the zucchini, pepper, and eggplant standing out in the mix. The pieces have kept their shape perfectly. The tomato pulp and onion have formed a thick, very fragrant sauce. Inside the larger pieces there’s still a barely noticeable firmness.

    

Serving

1. Arrange the vegetables on plates and spoon the sauce over them.

2. Finely chop the dill and parsley and slice the green onion. Sprinkle the herbs over the vegetables on the plate and serve right away. They’re very good with fresh bread.