Samfaina, the Catalan-style ratatouille

Samfaina, the Catalan ratatouille

Samfaina is an exuberant vegetable mixture widely used in Catalan cuisine as a sauce or base for meat, fish and fowl dishes. It's a succulent vegetarian dish that you can eat as a first course or side dish too.

I eat it often as it is delicious, healthy, and in fact easy to cook. It adds a bright touch of color to meals too.

Traditionally, the Catalan ratatouille recipe includes onion, peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes. And as usual, there seems to be as many variations as households. Some leave the onion out, others add garlic, or roast the peppers previously...

Ingredients for samfaina

Serves 6 as a sauce, base or side dish; 4 as a sole course

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium size onion, about ½ pound (300 g) – peeled and cut into ½ inch strips (1.5 cm)
• 3 bell peppers or similar; about 1 pound (400 g) – cut into 1-inch cubes
• 3 or 4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes; about ¾ pound (400 g) – peeled, seeded (optional), and chopped
• 1 or 2 eggplants about ¾ pound (400 g) – peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Catalan ratatouille recipe preparation method

1. First, peel and cut the eggplants into 1-inch cubes, place them in a colander, and sprinkle some salt over them so that they let out liquid. Let them rest in the colander while you start preparing the samfaina. If you have a lot of time, you can do this step 1 hour before you begin to cook this Catalan ratatouille recipe.


2. Bring 1 quart (1 l) water to a boil for peeling the tomatoes. Place the tomatoes in a container, and cover them completely with the boiling water. After about five minutes, remove the tomatoes from the hot water with a spoon. Let them cool for a few moments. Peel, and chop the tomatoes coarsely into 1-inch pieces (2.5 cm). You can seed them after halving them, and before chopping them.


3. Cut the onion into lenghtwise strips of about ½-inch (2 cm). Next, cut the peppers into into 1-inch dices.


4. Heat the olive oil in an earthenware casserole or Dutch oven. Add the onion and sautee 2 or 3 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly. Before the onion turns golden, add the pepper. Stirr, cover and cook covered for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring a few times.


5. Add the chopped tomato, stir and cover. Cook for 5 minutes.


6. Add the eggplants, stir, and cover. Cook for 10 minutes over medium-low heat stirring a few times. Add the salt, stir, and cook for 15 to 20 more minutes over low heat, stirring the samfaina every 5 minutes or so.

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