Caponata

Caponata is this awesome Sicilian eggplant dish which, basically, is a cooked vegetable salad. Traditionally, the eggplant is fried first, then stewed in a sweet/sour/spicy sauce (otherwise known as agrodolce) with celery; that's the recipe at it's most basic. From all of the reading I've done, it seems that different areas have different variations on the dish which is part of the reason I love it so much... it lends itself beautifully to experimentation. This version happens to be MY favorite way to prepare it, but again, it's such a forgiving dish and you can adapt it to your individual tastes so easily. Plus, the cooking method is pretty easy to change up as well; I prefer to roast my eggplant instead of frying it (uses so much less oil that way!).

Caponata

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, diced into 1-1.5" cubes
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, diced (I like using shallots here, but didn't have any on hand this time)
2 ribs of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. dried basil
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
generous pinch of red pepper flakes (of course you can use more, but I've made this dish too hot before and considering it tastes better the longer it sets, consider that the heat level increases the longer it sets)
salt & pepper, to taste
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 medium yellow squash, diced
1 (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (you can really use any form of tomato here- and I have- but I have to admit I really liked the consistency of using the crushed)
1 cup broth (veggie or chicken, whatever floats your boat)
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar (use more for a tangier/more sour sauce, or less if you'd rather tone it down)
1 Tbs. brown sugar (again, use more/less as you like to suit your own tastes)
1/4 cup raisins (traditionally, golden raisins are used, but it really doesn't make a difference)
1 Tbs. capers, drained (this is another traditional ingredient, but I don't always have them on hand- it tastes fine without them)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray, spread out the cubed eggplant, and either spritz with more cooking spray or drizzle with some olive oil. Sprinkle on salt & pepper, then bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, stirring at least once, until eggplant is soft and light golden brown.

Meanwhile, in a large pot over medium-low heat, cook the onion, celery, carrots, and red peppers in olive oil until slightly softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add in all of the spices, stirring to coat, before dropping in the squash and zucchini. Cook for another 1-2 minutes until the spices are very fragrant, then add in the tomato puree, broth, red wine vinegar, and sugar. Continue to simmer over medium-low heat, until the vegs are softened but not complete mush, about 15-20 minutes. About this time, the eggplant should be ready to come out of the oven and can be added into the stew along with the raisins and capers. If it seems a little too dry after adding the eggplant, you can always add in more broth or even a splash of water to give it room to groove. Depending on what consistency you're after, you can continue to simmer the stew for another 10-20 minutes until the vegs and eggplant have cooked down to practically nothing; or you can shut off the heat, clamp on a lid, and let it cool at this point which is what I do. The eggplant will absorb all that yummy sauce while retaining some of it's texture, the raisins will plump up, and the longer you let it sit, the better it gets. Serve it at room temperature, hot, or cold- it's damn good however you eat it. Serve it as a side dish, over pasta, or my personal favorite is to eat it with meatballs or Italian sausages. This freezes beautifully... if you actually have any leftover. ;)

Enjoy!