Heat oil in a medium-size pot over medium heat. Add shallots, stir and allow to soften for 3-4 minutes. Add Herbes de Provence and garlic and continue to cook for another minute.

Add tomato puree, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer till thick and fragrant, about 45 minutes. Add fresh basil, taste and add more salt and pepper as needed

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large sauté pan and heat over medium high heat till hot but not smoking. Add chopped zucchini, stir and sauté until tender-crisp, about 3-5 minutes. Don't let it get soft and mushy.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Repeat step 1 with peppers and eggplant in separate batches. Use 2 tablespoons of oil for the eggplant. If it looks too dry while cooking add a bit more. Eggplant tends to soak up a lot of oil so sometimes I add a bit of chicken broth or white wine instead of extra oil to keep the fat level lower.

Combine all of the veggies. Add olives and fresh tomatoes. At this point, you can either combine the sauce with the vegetables and serve as a ragout or keep the veggies and sauce separate. Serve over pasta rice or polenta. Another idea is to serve as a sauce over grilled chicken.