Caponata
[From Florence text]: Caponata is based on eggplant, like a lot of Sicilian dishes, and comes from the Latin “caupona,” meaning “tavern.” This means that it is suitable for many guests and is always ready, any time. It can be preserved for several days, and for this characteristic, it has been the traditional food of sailormen on fishing boats in Sicily. The chefs of ancient Sicilian aristocracy, called “monzu,” used to enrich the caponata with little octopus in tomato sauce (Ed: don’t worry, no little octopus in this one).
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1 dozen green olives
1 stalk celery, chopped in 1” blocks
½ small red onion
½ medium yellow or white onion
Handful capers
Handful raisins
Handful pinenuts
1 tomato
Couple of tablespoons sugar
Couple of tablespoons white wine vinegar
Peanut oil
Olive oil
Slice eggplant into 1” circles and layer in strainer. Cover in coarse salt (to remove liquid) and let sit about ½ hour. Meanwhile, chop celery stalk into 1” blocks. Halve olives, and slice onions thinly. Peel tomato and chop. Rinse salt off eggplant slices and press remaining liquid out firmly between palms. Quarter each slice.
In medium frypan, heat about 1 ½-2” peanut oil. Fry eggplant slices and celery blocks until golden. Drain on paper towels.
In another medium frypan, slowly sauté onions in a couple tablespoons olive oil until translucent. Add a heaping tablespoon sugar, let caramelize a bit, then add 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (do not overdo vinegar). Let the vinegar reduce a bit (should be 3 minutes or so), then add the capers, raisins, pinenuts, and olives.
Let cook slowly up to an hour on medium-low. Next add tomato chunks. Wait 2-3 minutes, and add eggplant. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Check seasoning before removing from stovetop (I thought 2 tablespoons was too “vinegar-y,” so added a half tablespoon more sugar at the end, and that was peachy).
Buon appetito.