Another Australian classic nicked from the French, Ratatouille, why an Aussie classic? Well as a young kid my Dad would make this just about everytime he cooked for us, and as kids we liked it - and best yet you could just as easily cook it in the BBQ as at home, so we got to eat it everywhere...

Speaking with my Dad later it seemed he had a limited cooking range, so the reason we got this all the time is that he couldn't cook much else.

Either way I still like it as an adult. If you don't know what Ratatouille is it is quite simply tomato, onion, and zucchini (and maybe garlic) cooked together until it becomes like a vegetable sauce.

So I am going to make it with Steak and Egg with vegetables. Traditionally a steak was always served with an egg on top in Australia, I am not sure why but looking at the science (which would not have been available at the time) the egg helps the beef steak amino acid profile, making it an even better source of protein.

Amazing how traditional methods can be so far ahead of their time.

Ingredients:

250g Beef Steak (1/2 lb)
2 Eggs
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Ratatouille: Onion
                Tomato
                Zucchini
                Garlic (optional - to taste)
Potato
Pumpkin
Turnip
Beans
Some Green Chinese Vegetable

Use anything for the vegetables - this is just what I had at hand

Preparation:

Cut the potato, pumpkin, turnip into small pieces and put into the rice cooker (or a pot of boiling water) to cook while we make the ratatouille and cook the steak.

Dice the onion, tomato and slice the zucchini and put in the heated pan with crushed garlic with a little water. Put the pan lid on and boil it all until the vegetables become soggy and start falling apart, mix it through until it is more of a thick vegetable stew. Remove from pan and put aside - this is your Ratatouille 'sauce' for your steak.

When the potato is nearly cooked put the green vegetables into the rice cooker as they don't take so long to cook.

Clean the pan out. Put a little olive oil, put the steak and cook one side for about 30 seconds, then turn it over and cook it properly. You cook one side to sear it and keep the juices in. Cook the steak until it is how you like it, move the steak to one side in the pan, add a little more oil and fry your eggs in the pan.

Serve the eggs over the steak and the ratatouille over your boiled vegetables.

Watch Conan Cook This Recipe: