Caponata recipe [General]
2007 Feb 14
Okidoke :) I thought I would wait to see if anyone interested before providing homemade translation - a bit shortened but I think the essential is there....
1 or 2 diced medium eggplants
2 diced celery stalks (this I replaced with zucchini)
1 large chopped onion
2 diced red peppers (I used 1 red and 1 green)
Olive Oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar (I was out so I used sherry vinegar)
1/3 to 1/2 c. black olives, pits removed
1 Tbsp sugar
1 can tomatoes, drained and chopped
S&P
Cayenne pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 400 F
Mix eggplant, celery, onion and peppers with olive oil in a bowl. Add vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, olives, pepper flakes and S&P.
Spread on baking tray with parchment paper. Cook 50 minutes, stir twice. When done, add capers to taste (optional).
P.S. In a cooking class, I learned a trick to pitting olives (so you don't end up with shredded olives and most of them stuck under your finger nails). It helps if crushed with side of knife blade first, then sliced and pit removed. The pit comes out much easier.
1 or 2 diced medium eggplants
2 diced celery stalks (this I replaced with zucchini)
1 large chopped onion
2 diced red peppers (I used 1 red and 1 green)
Olive Oil
1/4 c red wine vinegar (I was out so I used sherry vinegar)
1/3 to 1/2 c. black olives, pits removed
1 Tbsp sugar
1 can tomatoes, drained and chopped
S&P
Cayenne pepper flakes
Preheat oven to 400 F
Mix eggplant, celery, onion and peppers with olive oil in a bowl. Add vinegar, sugar, tomatoes, olives, pepper flakes and S&P.
Spread on baking tray with parchment paper. Cook 50 minutes, stir twice. When done, add capers to taste (optional).
P.S. In a cooking class, I learned a trick to pitting olives (so you don't end up with shredded olives and most of them stuck under your finger nails). It helps if crushed with side of knife blade first, then sliced and pit removed. The pit comes out much easier.
2007 Feb 14
Hi all,
since caponata is one my favourite dish and I spent 5 years in the "hometown" of caponata (Naples) I can't be out from this topic. This is the original Southern Italian recipe. Don't let the number of ingredients scare you- with the help of a food processor, the vegetables are ready in few minutes. It can be made several days in advance. Caponata dates back tp the seventeenth century and is popular not only in Naples but also throughout Sicily, Calabria and Basilicata. This tasty dish is traditionally served on Christmas Eve, during Lent, and on special occasions such as New Year's Eve or Day.
CAPONATA:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 celery stalks with leaves, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion (I suggest the violet one), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 17-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup Italian green or black olives, brine-cured, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 teaspoon sugar (It is called "the touch of the chef")
1/2 teaspoon salt
Wash, dry and cut vegetables or put through food processor. If using food processor, pulse individually 2 or 4 times, just until chunky, and set aside.
In a large , heavy skillet , heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute' celery , onion and pepper for 5 to 7 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add garlic and saute' for 1 to 2 minutes or until light golden brown. Add eggplant, tomatoes and tomato paste. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add olives, vinegar, capers, pine nuts, sugar and salt. Simmer 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally until all vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature with crostini or flatbread.
Variations: if you prefer caponata a little sweeter, substitute 2 tablespoon raising for sugar or add 1 additional tespoon of sugar. If you prefer caponata spicy, add up to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
It combines nicely with a meat sandwich for lunch or you can serve as an interesting appetizer, or to complement a simple dish, such as a broiled fish.
It's simply DELICIOUS!!!
p.s(It's strongly rerecommended a skillet....... NO oven!)
since caponata is one my favourite dish and I spent 5 years in the "hometown" of caponata (Naples) I can't be out from this topic. This is the original Southern Italian recipe. Don't let the number of ingredients scare you- with the help of a food processor, the vegetables are ready in few minutes. It can be made several days in advance. Caponata dates back tp the seventeenth century and is popular not only in Naples but also throughout Sicily, Calabria and Basilicata. This tasty dish is traditionally served on Christmas Eve, during Lent, and on special occasions such as New Year's Eve or Day.
CAPONATA:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 celery stalks with leaves, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion (I suggest the violet one), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 17-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup Italian green or black olives, brine-cured, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 teaspoon sugar (It is called "the touch of the chef")
1/2 teaspoon salt
Wash, dry and cut vegetables or put through food processor. If using food processor, pulse individually 2 or 4 times, just until chunky, and set aside.
In a large , heavy skillet , heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute' celery , onion and pepper for 5 to 7 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add garlic and saute' for 1 to 2 minutes or until light golden brown. Add eggplant, tomatoes and tomato paste. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add olives, vinegar, capers, pine nuts, sugar and salt. Simmer 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally until all vegetables are tender. Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature with crostini or flatbread.
Variations: if you prefer caponata a little sweeter, substitute 2 tablespoon raising for sugar or add 1 additional tespoon of sugar. If you prefer caponata spicy, add up to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper.
It combines nicely with a meat sandwich for lunch or you can serve as an interesting appetizer, or to complement a simple dish, such as a broiled fish.
It's simply DELICIOUS!!!
p.s(It's strongly rerecommended a skillet....... NO oven!)
2007 Feb 14
Mr. Red: Cool - 'hometown expertise' always the most trustworthy. But my recipe has the merit of being short! ;)
From Da Rock: the trick to eggplants is to 'purge' them of their bitter juices before cooking: slice, salt, let sit in a colandar for a while (half an hour approximately) until you see an orange liquid start beeding out of the slices, press down on the eggplants in colandar to extract more of this bitter juice. Then oil slices and grill. That way you need to use alot less oil and it won't be bitter. You can also use this trick when prep'ing eggplant for eggplant parmesan as well: prep as indicated, then dry the slices and flour them (everything that will be fried needs to be dried first), then fry in hot vegetable oil (veg oil can get hotter than olive oil without burning so eggplant fries faster and absorbs less oil). All that being said, I didn't prep the eggplant for the caponata recipe and it didn't seem to need it.
From Da Rock: the trick to eggplants is to 'purge' them of their bitter juices before cooking: slice, salt, let sit in a colandar for a while (half an hour approximately) until you see an orange liquid start beeding out of the slices, press down on the eggplants in colandar to extract more of this bitter juice. Then oil slices and grill. That way you need to use alot less oil and it won't be bitter. You can also use this trick when prep'ing eggplant for eggplant parmesan as well: prep as indicated, then dry the slices and flour them (everything that will be fried needs to be dried first), then fry in hot vegetable oil (veg oil can get hotter than olive oil without burning so eggplant fries faster and absorbs less oil). All that being said, I didn't prep the eggplant for the caponata recipe and it didn't seem to need it.
Chopped Liver
Here is the recipe: www.telequebec.tv - and apparently it is better the next day and the next day after that. (Hopefully not a cardinal sin for this site to reference a non-english site - I'm too lazy to translate). I did make a couple of substitutions: no red wine vinegar so I used sherry vinegar. No celery so I used zucchini.
You can use it on fish, on poached eggs, in an omelet, as an antipasti, on chicken and so on.