Andalusian ratatouille or Alboronía

How to make Andalusian ratatouille or alboronía.

This recipe we can fit into the category of recipes with vegetables , they are perhaps a declaration of good intentions, since it carries a large amount of vegetables.

Pisto , Tumbet, Ratatouille , Caponata , Shakshuka … all of them are different ways of cooking the same ingredients.

Except for small variations, they are all very similar, but depending on the geographical area where we are, they will call it one way or another and cook it in their own style.

Today I propose another recipe to prepare vegetables that is very typical of Andalusia, the Andalusian ratatouille or   Alboronía. 

With this type of dishes are also related all the fritás and fritaíllas that in many places are used as a base for fish and meat dishes.

The origin of its name is Arabic and means “a certain delicacy” and so it is, it is a perfect dish to accompany a meat, a white rice, a pasta or even to serve on a toast of white bread.

However you present it, I guarantee that it will be a success among your guests and their palates. In addition, it is a very cheap and reusable dish, that is, if you have left over, you can use it with other combinations.

An easy, healthy, cheap and reusable recipe, what more could you ask for!

We prepare the base of the ratatouille. Tomato sauce and vegetables

1. We prepare the tomato sauce . Peel and chop the tomatoes, removing the hard parts from the inside.
2. Chop half an onion. In a large frying pan we add these ingredients with a jet of extra virgin olive oil, a tablespoon of sugar and a little salt.
3. We let it cook over medium / low heat.
4. When it is well poached and the liquid has reduced, we pass it through the mixer and reserve.
5. The rest of the tomato that we are not going to use in this recipe, we can freeze and use for some spaghetti, as a base for a pizza or for whatever you want.
6. We cook the vegetables .  In a low saucepan we put a jet of extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom.
7. We add the peeled and whole garlic (so later it will be easier to find and remove them). We are gilding them over medium heat.
8. Chop the green pepper into small cubes and add them to the saucepan so that it is poached.
9. Chop the onion into very small cubes and, when the pepper is tender, add it and leave to cook.
10. Dice the aubergines, the zucchini without removing the skin and the pumpkin from which we must remove the skin and the pipes. We will only cook the meat of it.
11. When the onion has a transparent and slightly golden hue, remove the garlic and add the diced eggplant. We fry it over low heat with the rest of the ingredients.
12. When the eggplant begins to darken, add the zucchini and squash and sauté everything.
13. Season with salt and pepper and add a little water (one finger of a glass).

Cooking the Andalusian ratatouille or alboronía. Final presentation

1. We remove and let them stew over very low heat, about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally. If it stays very dry, you can add a little more water.
2. Add the paprika and a little flour. We remove and correct the salt point. Let them cook 4 or 5 more minutes.
3. We pour the tomato that we had reserved (it is not necessary that you add all the prepared tomato. Only the quantity that you want and of color to your stew.
4. If when adding the fried tomato it seems excessive, add only the appropriate amount to give flavor, without leaving the ratatouille in tomato sauce.
5. We remove and leave it about 3 or 4 minutes over low heat, so that the ingredients are well integrated.
6. We remove from the saucepan and serve hot or warm, depending on the type of dish we want to accompany.

You can see all the photos of the recipe for this ratatouille or alboronía  in this step by step.

Tips for a fluffy vibe

• Nestor Luján assured of this type of ratatouille “ Alboronía is the mother of all pistes, not only from La Mancha (the best known and emblematic), but also from others such as Madrid, Bilbao, Balearic or Mallorcan tumbet, even of the Catalan xanfaina . ”
• The traditional recipe includes pumpkin , it gives it a very special sweet touch, although my grandmother used to use the ingredients as she had them in the pantry, she always varied the recipes a little.
• Sometimes he changed the red pepper for the green pepper, or instead of adding onion, he put leeks, the truth is that in any case it was yummy.
• If you want to make the recipe as they do in Andalusia, you must add the pumpkin and even, depending on the area of ​​Andalusia, incorporate potatoes, chickpeas, hard-boiled eggs, cumin and other ingredients that give infinite variations, as in any traditional dish worth its salt.
• This recipe is in itself a complete and delicious dish that can be taken as a first course with a little white rice , but it is also an ideal accompaniment for grilled or boiled fish.
• It is a companion easily adaptable to other recipes as an accompaniment, which will allow you to eat the same, with a different appearance and you will not have the feeling of spending the whole week with the same taper.
• I advise you to always do in quantity, it is perfect to dull or freeze.