Caponata

I seem to be taken with cooking things I cannot eat. Today's offering on the list of food guaranteed to send your pancreas into spasms is a caponata from The Best Of Food And Wine, 1995.

My husband bought me something like a decade's worth of these books at the thrift store and I'm really enjoying them. Food and Wine magazine does an excellent job of offering detailed instructions, and even though the caponata had multiple steps, it was easy to follow.

My husband just had some for lunch and really enjoyed it. Danny is still trying to decide how he feels about eggplant, though he's pleased enough with the capers and olives.

The recipe did not call for salting the eggplant and letting it drain, but I did so anyway. Cut the cubes and place in a colander with a tablespoon of salt tossed throughout. Let drain for about 40 minutes. Rise and use as the recipe calls for.

You Will Need:

3/4 plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 medium onions, thinly sliced

Sea Salt

2 red bell peppers, sliced lengthwise

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 16 ounce tin crushed tomatoes in sauce

Several parsley stems

a few fresh thyme leaves

6 stalks of celery from the heart, with leaves, thinly sliced crosswise

1 medium eggplant (I used 4 Japanese style ones) peeled and cut into cubes

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup green olives, pitted

1/2 cup capers, rinsed

salt and pepper

Prepare the eggplant as above and set aside.

In a large, deep pot combine 1/4 cup of the olive oil with the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until soft and translucent-about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and and cover cooking until softened-about another 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook until fragrant-about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, parsley stems and thyme sprigs. Cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally until the onions are tender-about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil and add the celery. Cook over moderate heat until they begin to soften-about 8 minutes. Transfer celery to a bowl. In the same pan, add the 1/2 cup oil and add the rinsed and dried eggplant, cooking over medium heat until lightly browned-about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer the eggplant and celery to the pot with the tomatoes and onions. Cover and simmer until all the vegetables are soft-about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix the sugar into the red wine and stir to dissolve. Add the capers and olives to vinegar.

When vegetables are cooked, stir in the vinegar, capers and olives. Re-warm about two minutes.

Serve caponata warm or at room temperature. Can be kept in fridge two days, but return to room temperature before serving.