Caponata.....Eggplant Love

As a child, I was a somewhat picky eater.  Mostly, it involved picking out the vegetables, and finding discreet ways of discarding them.  Eggplant was one of those foods which meant an extra half hour at the dinner table for me as I had to come up with other ways to get rid of it than feeding it to the dog who was smart enough not to eat it either.  It finally took living in Italy (and maybe growing up) to get me over my eggplant phobia.

It all started with verdure grigliate.  It’s very often a contorni or side dish choice on Italian restaurant menus.  And when you order the mixed grilled vegetables, you usually get eggplant, zucchini and red peppers; a lovely and beautiful combination.  When it’s prepared so simply; grilled, then drizzled with olive oil, it’s quite delicious.  Of course the fact that you’re sitting in a beautiful Italian piazza, across from the one you love with a glass of wine in the other hand doesn’t hurt either.  Back in the U.S., I tried making it this way and something was lost in the translation…..I no longer liked eggplant.

So, back to Italy again.  (No, I don’t go to Italy just to force myself to eat eggplant.  That would be silly….or would it?)  I had an opportunity to go to Sicily with my husband on a business trip.  What an amazing trip!  We ate our way from one end of the island to the other.  We saw some pretty fabulous sights as well and then ate some more.  Oh, and some business happened. But one of the best food things that happened was that I fell in love with eggplant again!  We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was newly opened.  It was so obvious; fresh paint on the walls, everything brand new, etc.  They were thrilled to have some business and foreigners at that.  The owner kept bringing us things to try and every time he set something on the table he told us that papa made it.  The very first thing he brought us was a bowl of warm caponata with a basket of bread.  Eggplant love.

Here’s your list of ingredients:

1 large eggplant
Salt
Olive oil
½ of a medium onion, chopped
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes in their own sauce (preferably Italian imported)
Green olives, pitted and sliced (As many as you like.  I actually used a combo of green and black.)
2 T. capers, rinsed
2 T. pine nuts, toasted
2 T. raisins
Fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp of red wine vinegar mixed in a small bowl with 1 tsp of sugar to dissolve

Most recipes for caponata start with peeling and cubing the eggplant and deep frying it.  I’m not so keen on deep frying.  Not only is it not good for you, it’s just so darn messy.  So we’re still going to peel and cube our eggplant, but then, we’re going to drizzle it with salt, let it sweat out its excess moisture, then drizzle it with olive oil and roast it.  I really wanted my caponata to taste like its ingredients, so sweating the eggplant keeps it from getting watery.  Roasting really brings out the earthy flavor of so many vegetables and it’s generally my favorite way to serve them.  So preheat your oven to 400 degrees and let’s get started.

Peel and cube your eggplant.  Spread the cubes out over a layer of paper towels.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and let them sweat while you chop up some other ingredients.  They need about 30 minutes to sweat.  Very soon, you’ll see them release their little beads of perspiration.  After about 30 minutes, gather them up in the paper towels to absorb the excess moisture, and toss them back out onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil, rub them all around a bit and put the pan in your hot oven for about 15-20 minutes.  When they come out they’re beautiful little golden spongy cubes ready to absorb all the yummy flavors you’re about to add to the caponata.

Next up; a large skillet.  Drizzle some olive oil in there and when it gets hot, toss in your chopped onions.  Saute until they are nice and wilted then add the combo of capers, pine nuts, raisins and olives.  When it’s all nicely mixed, add in your tomatoes.  Simmer for about 5 minutes to let all the flavors meld, then add your cubes of roasted eggplant.

Simmer for another 10 minutes or so to thicken it up.  Then add the vinegar/sugar mixture to the pan.  Increase the heat a bit for just a moment to really get everything all mixed together.  Add your chopped fresh basil and remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for about 30 minutes before serving.  You're done!

Caponata can be served warm, cold or at room temperature.  It’s served as an appetizer with bread or as a relish accompaniment to meats.  It really has everything to offer; soft eggplant and crunchy pine nuts; salty hits of olive with sweet hits of raisin, but it has that vinegar/sugar flavor going on in the background.  Best of all, it’s one of those things that seems to taste even better the next day, so make a big batch.  I hope you too experience....Eggplant Love.


Buon Appetito!

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