Oven-baked vegetables with balsamic vinegar and feta cheese

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 eggplant(s)
• 250 g beans (bush beans)
• 50 g ham
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 250 g cauliflower
• 250 g carrot(s)
• 200 g zucchini
• 2 cloves garlic
• 100 g radish(s)
• 2 tomatoes (vine tomatoes)
• 125 g mushrooms
• 150 g feta cheese made from sheep’s milk
• 6 black olives, pitted
• Olive oil for frying
• 6 tbsp Balsamic vinegar of Modena
• 18 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tsp honey
• 1 pinch(s) spice mix (Ras el Hanout)

Instructions

Working time approx. 2 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 40 minutes

Wash the beans, trim off the ends, and cut into approximately 2-cm pieces. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and briefly fry the ham (vegetarians can skip this step). Add the beans to the pan. Sauté with the thyme and rosemary for about 5 minutes. Transfer the beans to a casserole dish. Remove the rosemary and thyme. Cut the cauliflower into florets, add to the pan (with a lid), season well with salt, and sauté for 10 minutes. Then add to the casserole dish with the beans. Cut the carrots into 1-cm cubes. Slice the eggplant and zucchini, season well with salt on both sides, and drain well. Meanwhile, prepare the marinade. Mix 6 tablespoons of good-quality red balsamic vinegar with 18 tablespoons of olive oil and 4 teaspoons of honey. Stir in a pinch of Ras el Hanout. Heat gently so that the honey is evenly distributed throughout the marinade. Rinse the zucchini and eggplant under running water and dry thoroughly on kitchen paper. Arrange the slices layer by layer in the cleaned pan, drizzling with the marinade every now and then. Crush 2 garlic cloves, chop 1 onion as finely as possible, and add both to the casserole dish. Cut the radish and bell pepper into bite-sized pieces and add them as well. Slice the black olives, dice the feta cheese, and dice the vine tomatoes, and add everything to the casserole dish. Spread the remaining marinade over the vegetables and arrange the zucchini and eggplant slices on top. Clean and slice the mushrooms, and add them to the casserole dish. Braise in the oven at 180°C (top/bottom heat) for about 10 minutes. Stir thoroughly to ensure all the vegetables get some of the marinade, then braise for another 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.