EGGPLANT CAPONATA
I love caponata – but it’s very hard to find good caponata in my area of the world. There’s some prepackaged stuff that’s ok, but not great and I’ve been really craving some good caponata lately.
I did some searching and found a bunch of different ideas and recipes and theories, and I took what I liked and what I thought looked like it might work.
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants, peeled and chopped into 1/2 in. pieces
- 1 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 small onions, diced
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 1 can black olives, chopped
- 1 small jar of capers, drained
- 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 c. sugar
Instructions
Put the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle coarse salt over it (I used Mediterranean sea salt). Toss to coat the eggplant with the salt.Take a plate slightly smaller than the colander and place on top if the eggplant.
On top of that, place a can or two or something slightly heavy to press down on the eggplant. Allow this to sit for about a half hour to force excess water out of the eggplant.
Preheat the oven to 375.
After the half hour is up, blot the eggplant with a paper towel to remove excess salt and water, transfer the eggplant to a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick spray, or lightly oiled with olive oil.
Roast the eggplant for about 35 minutes and remove from oven when it’s golden brown.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan with a lid, on med/high heat.
Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent.
Add the eggplant and saute for an additional couple of minutes until the eggplant is glossy and wet.
Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, let it go for 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so to make sure it doesn’t stick. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover and allow to cool.
Transfer to airtight containers and refrigerate overnight. This really needs to rest overnight and chill. It’s so much better the next day.
Serve with pretzels, chips, celery, pita – spread on italian bread or just eat it with a spoon.
Delicious!