Caponata

 

Indulge in this delightful eggplant caponata, a true Mediterranean treasure! With its perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and salty flavors from roasted eggplant, black olives, raisins, and more, it’s hard to resist.

Servings: 18 Servings

Ingredients

1 pound eggplant, cut into ½-inch cubes

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup tomato juice

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, or to taste

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 large fresh tomato, cored, seeded and chopped

¼ cup golden raisins

3 tablespoons minced black olives

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

¼ cup pine nuts, for serving

sliced ciabatta, for serving

Instructions

Prep. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.

Prepare the eggplants. Season the eggplant cubes with salt and set aside while the oven preheats.

Roast. Once the oven is ready, pat the eggplant dry with paper towels and transfer the cubes to a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, or until brown and tender.

Make the tomato mixture. In the meantime, in a mixing bowl whisk together the tomato juice, vinegar, parsley, and sugar. To the tomato mixture, stir in the chopped tomato, raisins, and olives.

Sauté the pepper and onion. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes, or until softened and a bit browned.

Combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the cooked eggplant and tomato juice mixture; bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 to 8 minutes, or until the sauce is thickened. You can cook for longer or to the desired consistency.

Let it rest. Remove from heat. For best flavor, let the caponata sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving. Taste and adjust; add more salt, more vinegar, etc.

Serve. Top your caponata with pine nuts and serve it with ciabatta.

Notes

Caponata can be refrigerated for up to a week; bring it to room temperature before serving.

Elizabeth Kilbride is a Writer and Editor with forty years of experience in writing, with 12 of those years in the online content sphere. Author of 5 books and a Graduate with an Associate of Arts degree in Business Management, a bachelor’s in mass communication and cyber-analysis, a master’s in criminology with emphasis on Cybercrime and Identity Theft and is currently studying for her Ph.D. degree in Criminology. Her work portfolio includes coverage of politics, current affairs, elections, history, and true crime. Elizabeth is also a gourmet cook, life coach, and avid artist in her spare time, proficient in watercolor, acrylic, oil, pen and ink, gouache, and pastels. As a political operative who has worked on over 300 campaigns during her career, Elizabeth has turned many life events into books and movie scripts while using history to weave interesting storylines. She also runs 7 blogs ranging from art to life coaching, food, writing, Gardening, and opinion or history pieces each week.

Italian Cuisine, Mediterranean, Kilbride, Potpourri of Frugality, Homemade, Do it yourself