Caponata alla Siciliana Recipe
Ingredients:
5 pounds eggplants
1/2 pound black olives packed in brine, pitted
... 6 ounces brined capers, rinsed
1 1/4 pounds celery ribs
1 cup tomato sauce (optional)
1 pound onions
1 pound tomatoes
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Cups sugar
Basil , rosemary,parsley ,garlic
Olive oil
Salt
Preparation:
Continuing with the introduction, caponata is much too good to abandon after the summer and is now made year round, in an infinite variety of forms. Some are purely vegetarian, whereas what's made in Palermo can also contain fish, as you will see from the variations below.
Begin by stripping the filaments from the celery sticks, then blanch them in lightly salted water for five minutes. Drain them, cut them into bite-size pieces, sauté them in a little oil, and set them aside.
Wash the eggplant, dice them, put the pieces in a strainer, sprinkle them liberally with salt, and let them sit for several hours to draw out the bitter juices. While they're sitting, blanch, peel, seed and chop the tomatoes.
Once the eggplant has sat, rinse away the salt and pat the pieces dry. Finely slice the onion and sauté them in olive oil; once they have turned translucent add the capers, pine nuts, olives, and tomatoes. Continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the tomatoes are done, about 15 minutes, and then remove the pot from the fire.
While the tomatoes are cooking heat a second pot of oil and fry the diced eggplant, in several batches to keep the oil from getting chilled. When the last batch is done, return the tomato pot to the fire and stir in the eggplant, together with the previously sautéed celery. Cook for several minutes over a low flame, stirring gently, then stir in the vinegar and the sugar; when the vinegar has almost completely evaporated remove the pot from the fire and let it cool.
Serve the caponata cold with a garnish of fresh basil. There will be a lot, but don't worry, because it keeps for several days in the fridge, and I find that it improves with time.
Ingredients:
5 pounds eggplants
1/2 pound black olives packed in brine, pitted
... 6 ounces brined capers, rinsed
1 1/4 pounds celery ribs
1 cup tomato sauce (optional)
1 pound onions
1 pound tomatoes
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Cups sugar
Basil , rosemary,parsley ,garlic
Olive oil
Salt
Preparation:
Continuing with the introduction, caponata is much too good to abandon after the summer and is now made year round, in an infinite variety of forms. Some are purely vegetarian, whereas what's made in Palermo can also contain fish, as you will see from the variations below.
Begin by stripping the filaments from the celery sticks, then blanch them in lightly salted water for five minutes. Drain them, cut them into bite-size pieces, sauté them in a little oil, and set them aside.
Wash the eggplant, dice them, put the pieces in a strainer, sprinkle them liberally with salt, and let them sit for several hours to draw out the bitter juices. While they're sitting, blanch, peel, seed and chop the tomatoes.
Once the eggplant has sat, rinse away the salt and pat the pieces dry. Finely slice the onion and sauté them in olive oil; once they have turned translucent add the capers, pine nuts, olives, and tomatoes. Continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the tomatoes are done, about 15 minutes, and then remove the pot from the fire.
While the tomatoes are cooking heat a second pot of oil and fry the diced eggplant, in several batches to keep the oil from getting chilled. When the last batch is done, return the tomato pot to the fire and stir in the eggplant, together with the previously sautéed celery. Cook for several minutes over a low flame, stirring gently, then stir in the vinegar and the sugar; when the vinegar has almost completely evaporated remove the pot from the fire and let it cool.
Serve the caponata cold with a garnish of fresh basil. There will be a lot, but don't worry, because it keeps for several days in the fridge, and I find that it improves with time.
No comments:
Post a Comment