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| karenbarnaby.com / Caponata | ||
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
1 1/2 tsp.
golden raisins
7.5 ml
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tsp.
balsamic vinegar
5 ml
1 1/2 tsp.
Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
7.5 ml
1/2 cup
fresh basil leaves
120 ml
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Prick the
eggplant several times with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Bake for
30-45 minutes, until the eggplant is completely soft and collapsing. Remove
from the oven and slit the eggplant open on one side. Place in a colander,
slit side down, to drain and cool completely.
While the eggplant is cooling, heat the olive oil in a large pot over
medium heat. Add the celery and onion and sauté until translucent. Add
the tomato purée, olives, capers and raisins. Cook over medium heat for
about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is slightly thickened
and the oil starts to separate from the tomato mixture.
When the eggplant has cooled, peel off the skin. Chop the eggplant crosswise
into 2 inch (5-cm) pieces. Add to the tomato mixture and simmer for 10
minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the balsamic vinegar, parsley
and basil and remove from the heat. Keeps for a week in the refrigerator.
From Screamingly Good Food, © 1997 Karen Barnaby, Whitecap Books