Caponata
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs assorted baby eggplants
- ½ lb (2 ea) sweet peppers
- ½ lb (3 ea) tomatoes, firm
- 1 onion, sliced into ½ inch thick slabs
- ¾ cup gold raisins
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 2 Tbsp Vinegar
- 2 Lemons, juiced
- 1 ½ Tbsp salt
- 2 Large Garlic Cloves, thinly shaved or minced
- ½ package of micro herbs
- 1 Cup Olive Oil
Directions:
- After washing all of your vegetables, use a broiler, hot dry cast-iron pan, or a very hot and dry grill to char and cook your peppers, eggplant, and thick sliced onions to al-denté. You want the vegetables to have some charring, but remain entirely edible with necessitating further peeling or cleaning.
- While the vegetables cook, combine the wine, vinegar, garlic, salt, and golden raisins in a saucepan and bring to a simmer before turning down the heat and allowing the raisins to hydrate until they are soft and tender.
- After cooking all of your vegetables, dice them to the desired size. We recommend a ½” dice as a starting point but feel free to tailor the cuts to suit your preferences.
- Roughly chop or tear the micro herbs before combining the raisins and their liquid, the diced vegetables, the toasted pine nuts, and the lemon juice. Fold the ingredients together gently to combine before topping with the olive oil. (Note* Homemade infused olive oils can be a wonderful upgrade to this base recipe)
- Adjust seasoning to taste. If desired, dry aromatics like ground pepper, flakes of oregano, chili flakes, or other spices can be incorporated as well.
- Use the caponata immediately or store under refrigeration (where it will improve in flavor until you consume it). Before serving, warm the caponata in a small saucepan until it is the temperature of a hot bath.
* We love to serve our caponata with hand-torn pieces of grilled bread, crudités, and all manner of crackers.
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