Vegetable stew with zucchini and potatoes

Prepare all the ingredients for vegetable ragout with zucchini and potatoes. All proportions in ragout are usually conditional. If you like potatoes, increase the amount. If you need to reduce the calorie content of the dish, then you should increase the amount of zucchini. It is advisable to choose high-quality and tasty vegetables so that the taste and aroma of the finished dish will be exceptional. It is better to take young zucchini with thin tender skin and firm flesh. They differ significantly in taste and texture from large ripe zucchini. Vegetables should be washed well. Choose herbs to your taste, neutral parsley, spicy dill, fragrant basil, thyme, oregano, or refreshing cilantro are suitable. The amount of greens can be increased. Dried herbs can also be used. Olive oil can be replaced with neutral vegetable oil if desired. Other vegetables can be added to the vegetable ragout - sweet peppers, white cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, green peas, corn, string beans, and other types of legumes, etc. Ragout can also be prepared from frozen vegetables. Choose spices to your taste: black and red hot pepper, sweet and smoked paprika, bay leaf, dill or cumin seeds, coriander, etc.

To start, prepare the potatoes: peel and cut into medium cubes.

Then, peel the onion and chop it into small cubes.

Peel the carrot with a peeler or a knife and chop it into small cubes. I chop all the vegetables into approximately the same size cubes, and the potatoes slightly larger.

In a deep frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the onion for a couple of minutes until transparent over medium heat.

Add the carrots to the pan with the onion and sauté them together until lightly golden for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Peel and finely chop the garlic.

Add the chopped garlic to the pan, add a little salt and pepper, and mix. Sauté everything together, stirring, for 1-2 minutes over moderate heat until the garlic becomes transparent. This slow gradual roasting of the vegetables helps to enhance their taste and aroma. At this stage, you can add other spices if desired.

Then add the potatoes, mix well, and sauté them lightly, stirring, for just a couple of minutes over moderate heat, and finally add a little salt. It is important not to burn the vegetables. This will ultimately degrade the taste of the vegetable stew.

First, pour half a glass of hot water and stew on low heat for 10 minutes.

While the vegetables are stewing, chop the zucchini into small cubes. If the zucchini is large with thick skin, it should be peeled and the tough seeds removed.

Add the zucchini to the skillet, sprinkle with a little more salt, mix well, and stew for about 5 minutes until the potatoes are cooked, stirring occasionally. Be careful when mixing the vegetables to maintain their shape. At this stage, the potatoes should be fully cooked as the next step is adding the tomatoes. If you add them to undercooked potatoes, the sour tomatoes will make the potatoes tough and tasteless.

Cut the tomatoes into random pieces.

Add the tomatoes to the vegetable stew, mix well, cover with a lid, and simmer over low heat until done. At this stage, you can optionally add minced garlic, dried herbs, and bay leaf to the vegetable stew with zucchini and potatoes.

Finely chop the herbs, removing the tough stems.

Taste the vegetable ragout and, if necessary, add a little more salt and pepper. Add the herbs, stir, and let it sit covered for about 5 minutes.

Serve the vegetable ragout with zucchini and potatoes with fresh vegetables and bread. Enjoy your meal!