Caponatina Toasts Recipes

EASY CAPONATA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add celery and cook uncovered until softened, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander and immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process. Drain.
• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat; add onion and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant, red bell peppers, and zucchini and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, vinegar, and sugar. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add olives, raisins, pine nuts, and capers. Season with salt and pepper and cook until flavors are well combined, about 5 minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat; stir in chopped basil. Cool and serve at room temperature.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA (SICILIAN VERSION)

Steps:

• Toss eggplant with salt and place in a colander set over a bowl. Let sit, about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet. Add eggplant and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in celery mixture, tomatoes, olives, capers, tomato paste, and oregano. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until caponata is thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Season caponata with vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with parsley.

CAPONATA

Steps:

• Roast the eggplant, allow to cool and chop coarsely.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet and add the onion and celery. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook together for a minute, until the garlic begins to smell fragrant, and add the peppers and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, until just about tender, about 8 minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil and the eggplant, and stir together for another 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. The eggplant will fall apart, which is fine. Season to taste.
• Add the tomatoes to the pan with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat and they smell fragrant. Add the capers, olives, remaining sugar, and vinegar. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are thoroughly tender and the mixture is quite thick, sweet, and fragrant. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. If possible, cover and chill overnight. Serve at room temperature.

CAPONATINA TOASTS

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
• Toast bread on a baking sheet until crisp and pale golden, 12 to 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool.
• Heat vegetable oil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over high heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer. Fry eggplant in 4 batches, stirring frequently, until pale golden, about 3 minutes per batch, transferring with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. (Return oil to 375°F between batches.)
• Cook onion in olive oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cinnamon and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in water, vinegar, and sugar until combined, then add olives, capers, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add eggplant and celery and cook, stirring gently, 1 minute. Transfer caponatina to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
• Serve toasts topped with caponatina.

ANGELINA'S CAPONATINA

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a colander in the sink and sprinkle lightly with salt. Let sit for 2 hours and rinse.
• Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in large skillet over medium heat and saute eggplant until it is soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove from skillet with slotted spoon and reserve.
• Heat remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in skillet, then saute onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add reserved eggplant, olives, capers, salt and pepper to taste, sugar, vinegar, sauce and red pepper flakes (if using). Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Let cool, then refrigerate.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA CROSTINI

Steps:

• Place a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the onion, and sauté until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and continue to sauté until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Wash skillet and return to medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and allow to heat until shimmering. Working in batches if necessary, add a single layer of eggplant, and toss to coat in oil. Fry, stirring frequently, until tender and evenly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Wash skillet and return to medium heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and tomatoes. Sauté until tomatoes are tender but have not lost their shape, and almost all the liquid has evaporated.
• In a large bowl, combine eggplant, onion mixture, tomatoes, raisins and capers. Toss gently to mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• To serve, toast the sliced bread, and top with a large spoonful of the caponata mixture. Sprinkle with a few drops of vinegar, and garnish with the basil chiffonade, and a few grains of flaky sea salt.

CAPONATA (CAPONATINA)

Steps:

• Begin by cutting the peeled eggplants in half, length wise. With a spoon, scrape out the bulk of the seeds, if the eggplant is too seedy - these only tend to bitter the eggplant; be careful not to take too much of the eggplant off. Cut the halves into ½ inch slices, salt both sides with coarse salt and place the slices into a colander to drain for approximately 1 ½ to 2 hours (the longer the better). You can place a heavy pan on top to quicken the draining. After draining, wash the slices in cold water and pat each slice thoroughly dry. You can omit this salting step, but the drained eggplant is of much better quality for frying and salting and draining is highly recommended.
• Cut the eggplant slices into ½ inch to ¾ inch cubes and set aside.
• To blanch the Roma or plum tomatoes, boil water in a small open pot. Remove from heat. Carefully score the top of each tomato with an X and drop a tomato or two in the hot water. With a spoon, push the tomatoes under the hot water for 15-30 seconds. Remove and place the tomatoes in a bowl of ice water and let sit. When all the tomatoes have been blanched and are resting in ice water, the skins should begin to peel back. Proceed to peel the skin from the tomatoes, starting at the top where the tomato was scored. Peel with a small paring knife. Place all the peeled tomatoes in a bowl, cut into chunks and set aside.
• Cut the peeled celery ribs into strips and chop into ½ inch pieces. Blanch the celery pieces in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and drain. Sauté the celery pieces in a few tablespoons of olive oil, drain and set aside.
• In a large skillet, place enough canola oil to cover the pan's bottom ¼ inch deep. Heat the oil, and place the well drained eggplant pieces one layer deep into the pan and fry until soft. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels to remove excess oil. Repeat until all the eggplant is fried and drained.
• In a pan large enough to hold all your ingredients, sauté the onions in a few tablespoons of olive oil until they are translucent, being careful not to brown them. Next add the capers, the the green pitted olives and the 1 and 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce, the Roma or plum tomatoes (optional) and continue to cook over low heat for 15-30 minutes until the mixture reduces and thickens and the Roma tomato chunks are cooked into the mixture, but still distinguishable. Stir the mixture from time to time to prevent sticking. You will need to use your judgment to determine the doneness of the mixture, but do not overcook, a little less is better. The mixture should not be dry.
• NOTE: You may also use one 28oz. can of whole plum shaped tomatoes, well drained, seeded and cut into medium size pieces in place of the Roma plum tomatoes above.
• Add the fried eggplant pieces, the sautéed celery pieces and chopped basil to the tomato mixture and continue to cook over low heat for several minutes, stirring the mixture to prevent the mixture from sticking. Do not overcook and let the mixture become too dry. It is best if it is thick and loose.
• When the tomato mixture appears to be absorbed into the eggplant, add the wine vinegar, stirring the hot mixture continually. A word to the wise, stand away from the pan when adding the wine vinegar to the hot mixture to prevent inhaling the vinegar vapor. Add the sugar, a bit at a time, stirring between additions to speed absorption.
• NOTE: I have found it best to add half the wine vinegar and the sugar. Taste to assure the correct degree of sweetness and sourness before continuing with either of these two ingredients. This is a matter of personal taste. Salt and pepper may be added to taste at this point also, but remember that several of the ingredients were soaked in brine, so be careful with the salt!
• Cool the caponata well before serving. The caponata may be placed into a container and refrigerated. This is one of those dishes that ages well and the taste even improves over time. It will keep for several days in a refrigerator; just stir the mixture well from time to time. I recommend cooking this dish in advance to take full advantage of these qualities. An added tip: this dish also freezes well, just place in an appropriate container and freeze, let thaw and stir before serving. Remember to always serve at room temperature.
• Caponata can be served as an antipasto or appetizer. It is delicious served on bruschetta or with pieces of crusty Italian bread. There should be enough to serve at least 8.

CAPONATINA SICILIANA (EGGPLANT, OLIVE, AND CELERY APPETIZER)

Steps:

• Trim the eggplants, cut them into 1-inch cubes, and transfer them to a colander. Sprinkle with salt and let them stand for 30 minutes. Rinse, drain well, and pat dry. In a bowl, combine the black olives, green olives, and capers. Cover with warm water and let them plump for 20 minutes. Drain well. In a saucepan of boiling water, blanch the celery for 1 to 2 minutes, or until just tender. Drain and pat dry. In a large skillet set over moderately high heat, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil until hot. Add the eggplant in small batches and cook it, stirring occasionally and adding 3 to 4 tablespoons of water to prevent sticking, until just tender and golden brown. Transfer the fried eggplant to a bowl and, adding oil and water as needed, fry the remaining eggplant. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and heat until hot over moderate heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, just until tender. Add the tomato sauce, 2 cups of water, the reserved eggplant, olives, capers, celery, and salt and pepper. Simmer the mixture over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and vinegar, stirring until dissolved. Add the sugar mixture to the eggplant mixture and stir to combine. Transfer the caponatina to a bowl, let it cool to room temperature, and chill it, covered, for 1 to 2 days to allow the flavors to blend.

MAMMA ANNETTE'S CAPONATINA (EGGPLANT SALAD)

Steps:

• Heat 1/2 inch oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add eggplant and saute until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a Dutch oven.
• Add celery to the frying pan with more oil if necessary. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to the Dutch oven.
• Cut onion slices into 1-inch pieces. Add to the frying pan with bell peppers and more oil if necessary. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to the Dutch oven.
• Add tomato paste, vinegar, capers, sugar, and salt to the Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat until simmering, then cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Add green and black olives and place in the refrigerator to chill before serving, about 1 hour.

CAPONATINA RECIPE

Steps:

• Fry diced eggplant in 1 cup olive oil until nicely browned. Remove from skillet Add remaining olive oil and onions, browning gently over medium heat. Add tomato sauce and celery and cook until tender. Add water if necessary, careful to maintain the consistency of the sauce. Add capers, olives, pine nuts, and fried egglant. Heat vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer appoximately 20 minutes or until flavors and become less sharp and individually defined. Cool to room temperature before serving and store leftovers, covered, in the refigerator. The recipe may be doubled as the dish itself stands well and even improves over time. As presented, this recipe will serve 4 when served bruschetta style on toast points. Additionally, the dish may be garnished with sprigs of fresh parsley or basil and olives. Serve with a side salad and a glass of Sicilian table wine. Enjoy! Need a ready-made variation: Top slices of grilled or fried polenta with caponatina. Drizzle with a bit of good, full bodied olive oil, garnished with fresh springs of basil, parsley, and slices of fresh tomato. Serve as above, as an appetizer or casual, warm weather meal.