I was lucky enough to get to know my husband’s maternal grandmother Elizabeth. She was a fascinating woman and lived to the ripe old age of 103. She shared a number of recipes with me including this tasty recipe for eggplant caponata. It’s a delicious mix of eggplant, olives, celery, onions, and other goodies. Caponata is used as an appetizer or side dish normally, but you can also mix it into a bowl of pasta! I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Ingredients
1 large eggplant
4-6 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions
2 stalks celery
1 28 ounce can plum tomatoes (not crushed ones)
4 ounces green olives
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup pine nuts (optional)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
Directions
Peel the eggplant and cut into one inch cubes. Hubby’s grandma would then salt the eggplant, let it sit in a colander for an hour and then rinse and dry it. Salting the eggplant this way can remove the bitterness and keep it more solid, but I find that with this recipe, it’s not necessary to do this.
Heat about 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a skillet. When shimmering, add the eggplant and cook until soft and starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Remove the eggplant from the heat and put in a separate bowl. Do a quick wipe of the skillet with a paper towel and heat another 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Fine chop the onions and celery and cook in the oil until softened.
While the onions and celery are cooking, rough chop the green olives. You can also use a mix of green and calamata olives if you like. Add to the onions and celery and continue cooking, but do not let the onions brown.
Open the can of tomatoes and pour them into a colander placed over a bowl to collect the sauce. Open the tomatoes and remove an extra liquid. Rough chop the tomatoes. Once the onions are softened, add them to the onion/celery/olive mixture and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add capers to the onion/celery/olive/tomato mix. I normally use capers that are brined. If you use capers packed in salt, rinse them before adding them to the mix.
Return the eggplant to the skillet with the onion/celery/olive/tomato mix. Stir. If it looks like the mix is too dry, add a little of the reserved sauce from the tomato can, but do not make it too saucy.
Mix the sugar and vinegar until the sugar is dissolved. Add to the onion/celery/olive/tomato mix. You can add the pine nuts at this time, but I skip this step on account of the cost of the pine nuts. I’ve never tried it with another nut, like walnut or pistachio and it’s not really necessary.
Cover the skillet and cook at a low simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the eggplant is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated.
Transfer into jars and seal. The caponata will keep for at least a week. If you want to keep it for longer, I recommend freezing it until you are willing to go through the process of preserving by boiling, etc. In our house, this never lasts long enough to require that! LOL!
Only 35 More Days!
I’m counting down to the release of Lost in Little Havana. Only 35 more days until you can get your hands on a copy of the first book in the South Beach Security series.
