Tony Jackman’s ratatouille scrambled eggs . (Photo: Tony Jackman)
Ratatouille doesn’t have to be as complex and “cheffy” a thing as the plotline of the famous movie would demand. And Anton Ego isn’t going to twitch his critical nose in disgust at the mere sight of this simple breakfast.
And that’s the point: it’s easy and it’s quick. And who has the time to spend an hour over making breakfast anyway.
Ratatouille can have a number of ingredients in it but at its core it’s about tomatoes, courgettes, onion and — if this weren’t intended to be eaten at breakfast time — garlic. I generally leave garlic out of any breakfast recipe, for the obvious reason that we don’t want to be breathing it over everyone we see that day who hasn’t had garlic for breakfast. Leave garlic to lunch or dinner.
But aubergine (brinjal) is often found in ratatouille too, and peppers (capsicum) can make an appearance. Fresh herbs are de rigueur, so I included parsley, but basil, thyme and/or oregano would all be welcome.
I restricted it to the aforementioned tomato, onion and courgettes, otherwise this scramble would have been unwieldy.
Tony’s ratatouille scrambled eggs
(Serves 2-4)
Ingredients
- 6 XL eggs
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, sliced
- 4 small courgettes, sliced
- 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped parsley
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Method
- Chop and slice your vegetables. Heat a little oil in a pan and sauté the onion until lightly golden. Remove to a side dish.
- Add more oil, heat, and add the sliced courgettes. Cook, stirring, until they have softened and taken on some colour.
- Add all the chopped tomatoes, season with salty and pepper, and continue to cook until it smells fragrant, 3 or 4 minutes, stirring.
- Add most of the parsley, return most of the onion to the pan, and stir to combine.
- Break the eggs into a bowl and whisk.
- Add the beaten egg and cook, stirring and scraping, until the eggs have cooked.
- Taste, adjust seasoning if needed, and serve, with the remaining bits of onion on top and some chopped parsley to garnish. DM
Read more on Daily Maverick: Scrambled eggs with salami and sautéed potatoes
Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award, in 2021 and 2023.
Follow Tony Jackman on Instagram @tony_jackman_cooks.
This dish is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.