Eggplant, Bell Pepper, Tomato, and Zucchini Stew

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Prepare the ingredients from the list. Feel free to change up the mix of vegetables to taste. Wash the eggplant and cut it into small cubes. I used one of the newer eggplant varieties without the bitterness this vegetable is known for, but if yours is bitter, it's easy to fix: sprinkle the cut eggplant with salt and let it sit for 20 minutes. After that, rinse it well and squeeze out the juice.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the young zucchini too and cut it into cubes. If the zucchini is more mature, with a tough skin and formed seeds, peel it and finely chop the flesh with a knife. Wash the bell pepper, cut out the stem and seed core, and cut the flesh into small cubes or strips.

3. Step 3:

   

   Peel the onion and finely chop it.

4. Step 4:

   

   Wash, peel, and cut the carrot into small cubes.

5. Step 5:

   

   Wash the tomatoes, cut out the stem end, and dice the flesh. If the tomato skins are tough, remove them by pouring boiling water over the tomatoes and then plunging them into a bowl of cold water. After the temperature change, the skin peels away from the flesh easily.

6. Step 6:

   

   Pour vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed skillet or a sauté pan and heat it. Fry the eggplant in the oil for two minutes.

7. Step 7:

   

   Add the onion, carrot, bell pepper, and zucchini to the eggplant. Stir and fry the vegetables over high heat for another couple of minutes. If the vegetables haven't released much juice, you can add a small splash of water so they don't scorch on the bottom of the pan as they braise.

8. Step 8:

   

   Then add the tomatoes. Stir, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and braise the vegetables, covered, for 25 minutes.

9. Step 9:

   

   Seven minutes before the end of the braising time, add salt and ground black pepper to taste, along with any other seasoning you like; stir and cook until fully done. The vegetables should be soft and tender. Serve the vegetable stew topped with chopped fresh herbs, with sour cream and fresh bread. Enjoy!