Monday

Caponata



Caponata is an Italian dish, quite similar
to French Ratatouille; cubed or diced eggplant,
onion, celery, garlic, bell pepper, tomatoes, etc.
Caponata usually contains green olives, and since
I like capers I add some, plus some toasted
pine nuts, and if I have zucchini on hand,
I dice it and add it as well.



The ingredients, except the olives, capers and pine nuts
can be sauteed in olive oil until tender, or do as I do
and place the ingredients in a shallow baking pan,
toss with a little olive oil and roast in a 375º to 400º 
preheated oven, stirring occasionally.
I usually don't add the tomatoes until the other
veggies are almost tender, then continue roasting until
the ingredients are very tender and nearly all the
liquid has evaporated. Cool and serve at
room temperature. 
(May be covered and refrigerated to serve later.) 
It will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.



It's very good served as a topping on bruschetta,
crackers, tucked into an omelet, as a spread added
to a grilled cheese or other favorite sandwich.
It's also good as a topping on cheese pizza,
either before the pizza goes into the oven or after,
as well as a condiment to serve along with
simply prepared chicken or fish.



If you've never made this, once you do, I'm sure you'll see how easy it is.
And you can adjust the ingredients to suit your own taste.
Occasionally I'll add tiny, quartered artichoke hearts,
black olives instead of green, whatever sounds good
will usually work.

I loosely follow this recipe, if there is a vegetable
listed that you don't care for (or don't have on hand), 
feel free to omit it.



 I don't like quite as much sugar
in mine so I reduce it by at least half. I suggest starting
with a smaller amount, then add more if you
like it sweeter. 

If you make this version I hope you enjoy!

xo ~m.

Note:  The recipe for Amaretti Cookies is now up over on my
recipe blog. Click here.

Linking to Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm.
Please come see the lovely things that are going on there!

10 comments:

  1. I love Caponata, much nicer than Ratatouille (IMO) and yours looks so much prettier than the NYT one....

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yum yum..
    Yrs ago at the beginning of my career..a really nice lady..offered me Caponata..when I went to price her home and she gave me a small jar..
    I must dig out her recipe also..
    You know..when everything feels right..w/ someone..? The taste is enhanced..

    Thank you~

    ReplyDelete
  3. Why thank you Barbara! I tend to agree with you, to me it seems Caponata has a little bit more depth of flavor?
    I hope things are going well in Provence (*sigh*) I just love the sound of that; "in Provence" ! It is very hot here today. :p

    Mme. Monique, Sweet memory of Caponata. Have you posted your recipe before? If so, I must have missed it. I hope you'll post about it... to me those are the most memorable recipes' those given to us by friends and acquaintances.

    Thank you both for taking the time to comment!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this dish served on an antipasto plate.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Val! That is such a great idea, thank you.!

    ReplyDelete
  6. G'day! I LOVE Caponata too!
    Your photos are SO mouthwatering, I am salivating now for some too!
    Cheers! Joanne
    What's On The List
    http://www.whatsonthelist.net

    ReplyDelete
  7. just trying out my new aol reader, and here you are, all regal in purple :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Jain! Yay, I'm glad it works for you... I never got confirmation from aol, so I signed up with bloglovin'.

    Thanks for stopping by ~ and happy to see that your comments are posting (not stuck in my mailbox), maybe that only happens when you're @ SeaDream?

    Try to stay cool today... spoze to hit 104º here with DRY Thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. Everything is so dry. Nail biting time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. scrumptious looking caponata,a must try
    indiaandworldcuisine.blogspot.in

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comments, friends ~ they make my day!

A Sampling of my food . . .

Subscribe:

 Subscribe in a reader...or

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner