30-Minute Veggie Ragù alla Ratatouille

One of my go-to pasta recipes, inspired by the traditional French ratatouille, which comes together in no time and is packed with umami flavor. This dish features tons of colorful vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms, simmered in spicy tomato sauce — a joy for the eyes and the tummy.

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant

• 2 small zucchini

• 500g champignon mushrooms

• 1 onion

• 3 garlic cloves

• 400g or 1 jar spicy tomato sauce (arrabbiata) + same amount of pasta water

• 1 TBS umami seasoning blend (dried onions, ground mustard seeds, porcini and white button mushroom powder, crushed red pep, black pep, dried thyme, and salt)

• 500g pasta of choice (I used fusilli bucati corti)

• salt and black pep to taste

Instructions:

1. Finely chop onion and garlic, add to a pan with a splash of heated olive oil and fry until fragrant.

2. Chop the veggies into bite-size pieces, add to the pan with the onion and garlic, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the veggies have decreased in size and gained some charring (= flavor).

3. Add your pasta to boiling and salted water and cook for 2-3 minutes less than indicated on the packaging. It will finish cooking once it is mixed with the sauce.

4. Add the tomato sauce and an equal amount of pasta water to the veggies, sprinkle the umami seasoning blend, and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened (the longer you let it cook the more flavor will develop).

5. Strain the pasta and drop it in the veggie ragù, mixing vigorously for 1-2 minutes or until the pasta is done. Optionally, serve with grated parmesan cheese, a splash of extra virgin olive oil and Italian chilli oil (olio di pepperoncini).

*Tip: chop the veggies beforehand to make the cooking easier.