Ratatouille with Merguez

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 eggplant(s)
• 1 zucchini
• 3 beefsteak tomatoes
• 2 bell peppers, yellow and red
• 1 vegetable onion(s)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 800 ml vegetable stock
• 6 sausages (merguez, lamb sausages)
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp herbs de Provence, frozen
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt
• pepper
• some fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, chervil, tarragon) for garnishing

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour

Clean and rinse the eggplants, quarter them lengthwise, dice them, and season lightly with salt. Clean and rinse the zucchini, halve them lengthwise, and slice them. Score the tomatoes crosswise, pour boiling water over them to cover them, and let them stand for 1 minute. Drain, rinse, peel, halve, and remove the stems. Roughly dice the tomatoes, reserving the juice. Halve the bell peppers, remove the seeds and white membranes, rinse, and roughly dice them. Peel and finely dice the onion and garlic. Heat 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and sauté the vegetables (except the tomatoes) with the diced onion and garlic in batches over medium heat. Then add the tomato paste and roast briefly. Then add the diced tomatoes and their juices and pour in the vegetable stock. Season with a little salt, a few turns of freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of Provençal herbs. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, cut the sausages into 1 to 2 cm pieces and fry them all over in a pan with 1 tablespoon of hot olive oil. Season the ratatouille with the red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt, a few turns of freshly ground pepper, and a pinch of sugar, if desired, and fold in the sausage pieces. Garnish the ratatouille with the herbs and serve. Serve with fresh baguette.