A Toronto supplier of excellent wines and olive oils gave me a jar filled with a miraculous eggplant dish that his mother made. It was a perfect blend of sweet, sour and salty, with a creamy texture. I was so impressed that I immediately set to work replicating it and it seemed like that's all we ate that summer-On pasta, with meat and fish, on salads, with cheese, as an appetizer. We fed it to our friends, they started making it, and so on. This is one of my favorite dishes of all time and I am sure you will find a myriad of uses for it too. If you can find the Sicilian eggplants that appear in the summer, use them. They are the sweetest.
Makes about 2 cups (475 ml)

1 lb.

eggplant

454 g

1/4 cup

olive oil

60 ml

1 stalk

celery, cut into julienne strips,2-inches by 1/4-inch (5-cm by .6-cm)

1 stalk

1

medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch (1.2 cm) lengthwise wedges

1

1 1/2 cups

drained canned plum tomatoes, puréed and sieved

360 ml

8

good-quality green olives, pitted

8

8

good-quality black olives, pitted

8

1 Tbsp.

drained small capers

15 ml

1 1/2 tsp.

golden raisins

7.5 ml

salt and black pepper to taste