JENNY McQUEEN
When you’re ever aiming to throw a scrumptious curve ball into your meal planning repertoire, I counsel trying to native favorites from throughout the globe for inspiration. Typically slightly culinary tourism from the consolation of your individual kitchen is the proper remedy for a cooking rut, reminding you of distinctive and thrilling elements, with pairings new to your palate.
In the present day’s recipe is a heartier tackle the standard Sicilian dish caponata. This heat, tomato-based dish at all times contains eggplant and vinegar, however variations throughout the Mediterranean incorporate native flavors resembling olives, raisins and roasted nuts.
Let’s speak about eggplant. Eggplant has a popularity for being lower than fulfilling if not ready correctly: bitterness, chewy pores and skin and mushy texture are all potential landmines for the eggplant fanatic. As I’ve fallen prey to the pitfalls of eggplant myself, listed below are a couple of tricks to hold your aubergine completely superior:
• Choose a few smaller eggplants slightly than one giant one. The smaller fruits have thinner pores and skin, sweeter taste and fewer seeds.
• Dice and roast with the pores and skin on, don’t peel. The pores and skin retains superbly chopped items intact, slightly than permitting them to turn out to be mush when scooped off the pan.
• Minimize your items no smaller than 1 inch and cook dinner in a sizzling oven (450 levels or larger). Tiny items will overcook earlier than you get that sought-after caramelization.
Caponata is commonly served as a aspect dish or appetizer, however the addition of beans to this recipe makes it a meal, particularly when served with a aspect of crusty bread. Whereas any white bean may work for this recipe, I like to recommend gigantes, that are an enormous white runner bean widespread in Greek delicacies, or butter beans, that are very related. The starchy texture and buttery taste carry a balanced weight to the candy and acidic tomatoes and greens. Black or kidney beans would get a bit misplaced within the dish.
I take advantage of entire San Marzano tomatoes for this recipe, crushing them by hand earlier than I add them to the pot, although you would use an electrical mixer or meals processor to interrupt them down. The crushed entire tomatoes add a little bit of a distinct taste and texture to the dish, versus the diced selection.
White Bean Caponata
Yield: 6 servings
2-3 small eggplants (About 1½ kilos whole), seeded and minimize into 1-inch cubes
Notice: The seeds of small eggplants are edible. If they appear cumbersome or too tiny to take away, simply depart them in.
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup olive oil, divided
1 yellow onion, minced
2 carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 28-ounce can entire San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
¼ cup pink wine vinegar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup inexperienced olives, diced
2 Tablespoons capers
½ cup golden raisins or dried currants
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 28-ounce can gigantes or butter beans, drained
Preheat oven to 450 levels. Toss eggplant with ¼ cup olive oil, salt and pepper.
Organize in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook dinner for Quarter-hour.
Utilizing a spatula, flip the eggplant and proceed roasting for a further Quarter-hour till they’re a wealthy caramel coloration.
Whereas the eggplant is roasting, add the remaining olive oil and yellow onion to a big pot over medium-high warmth. Cook dinner 5-7 minutes.
Add carrots and cook dinner 4-5 extra minutes.
Add celery, garlic and oregano and cook dinner 4-5 extra minutes.
Add tomatoes, vinegar and sugar and convey to a boil. Scale back warmth and cook dinner 8-10 minutes till the carrots are tender.
Add all remaining elements, together with roasted eggplant, and cook dinner over medium-low warmth for 10-Quarter-hour.
Take away from the warmth, cowl and permit to take a seat at room temperature for 30-45 minutes earlier than serving.
Stir, style and add further salt and pepper if needed.
Take pleasure in with pink wine! ¦
