An easy-to-prepare side dish. Caponata goes well with any dish featuring the flavors of the Mediterranean.
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INGREDIENTS |
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Eggplant |
5 |
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Green olives |
200 |
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g |
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Capers |
100 |
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g |
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Onions |
3 |
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Celery |
1 |
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stock |
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Tomatoes |
4 |
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Sugar |
2 |
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tablespoons |
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Basil |
to taste |
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Vinegar |
1/2 |
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glass |
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Extra-virgin olive oil |
to taste |
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Salt |
to taste |
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PREPARATION |
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| 1. |
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Clean and wash the eggplant. Cut it into cubes and place them in a colander and sprinkle with salt so that is will sweat out its bitterness. After about an hour, rinse, drain and fry in plenty of boiling oil. After frying, put the eggplant on some paper towels to absorb the excess grease. |
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Clean and wash the celery and tomatoes; clean and cut the onion into thin slices and fry it in a pan in a little oil. |
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| 3. |
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Cut the celery and tomatoes into large chunks and add them to the onion. Also add the washed and de-salted capers and the finely chopped olives. Add salt, if necessary. |
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Leave over the flame until the celery is almost cooked, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Add the eggplant and a few basil leaves. Sprinkle the caponata with the sugar and add the vinegar, letting it cook for another couple of minutes. Caponata is good served both hot and cold. |
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CHEF'S NOTE |
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If you prefer a lighter version of caponata, you can cook the eggplant together with the mixture of tomatoes, celery and onion without frying it first. |
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This fresh, light menu goes very well with fairly acidic white wines imbued with a delicate bouquet and slightly sparkling, like a Muller-Thurgau mosso veneto. |
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