Caponata

Ingredients:

  • 2 aubergines (aiming to cover the whole baking sheet when cubed)
  • olive oil
  • 0.25 teaspoon salt
  • 1 onion
  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1 red Romano pepper
  • olive oil
  • 0.25 teaspoon salt
  • 10 twists of black pepper
  • 400g can of tomatoes (the best one you can find)
  • 10g garlic (about 2 cloves)
  • 70g raw almonds (not toasted)
  • 40g green olives (Castelvetrano/Nocellara would be best, pits removed)
  • 35g golden raisins
  • 20g capers
  • 45g white wine vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • small bunch of basil
  • sourdough bread

Methods:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
  • Chop the aubergines into large bite-size cubes. Place it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and 0.25 teaspoon salt, mix with your hands and arrange in a single layer. Roast in the oven for about 40min, until deeply golden. Stir halfway for even cooking.
  • Meanwhile, chop the onion and the celery stalks into small bite-size pieces. Chop the red pepper into larger bite-size pieces.
  • Pre-heat some olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add in onions, celery and peppers. Sprinkle with black pepper and 0.25 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions are tender and just starting to turn golden, about 10min.
  • Open a can of tomatoes. If they are not already finely chopped, handblender them.
  • Using garlic press, add the garlic into the pot. Stir until it starts to smell really good (less than 1min) and add the tomatoes. Stir to combine.
  • To blanch the almonds, place them in a mug and pour over boiling water. Give them a minute to warm up, then drain and remove the skins. If that’s not easy, cover them in boiling water once more and try again. (Or you could buy blanched almonds.) Add them to the pot.
  • Chop the olives into small pieces. Place them in a bowl and add raisins, capers, vinegar and bay leaves. Empty the bowl into the pot and stir to combine.
  • Cook, stirring occasionally, on medium-low heat for at least 10min, or until the aubergines are ready. Add in the aubergines and cook for another 5min.
  • Stir in finely chopped basil and take off the heat.
  • Taste and adjust salt, acidity (vinegar) and sweetness. If more sweetness is required, cover some more raisins in boiling water, give them a minute to rehydrate, drain, finely chop and stir them in.
  • Rest the caponata for at least a couple of hours or overnight in the fridge. Serve warm or at room temperature with toasted sourdough bread. Goes equally well with couscous.

Inspired by: my travels in Sicily. I used the recipe from Cookie and Kate as a starting point.