Pasta With Eggplant Capers And Olives Recipes

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.

FUSILLI WITH EGGPLANT, PINE NUTS, CURRANTS, AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Place eggplant slices on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand over 20 minutes. Turn eggplant slices over. Sprinkle with salt. Let stand 20 minutes longer. Rinse eggplant. Drain; pat fry with paper towels. Cut eggplant into 1/2-inch cubes. Set aside.
• Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until golden, about 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add eggplant; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in pine nuts, currants, and capers; sauté 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juices; bring to simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but firm enough to bite. Drain. Return pasta to pot. Add eggplant mixture, 1/4 cup cheese, and basil. Toss to combine. Transfer to large bowl. Serve, passing remaining cheese separately.

PASTA ALLA NORMA (EGGPLANT PASTA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 240°C / 450°F (220°C fan). Line a tray with baking / parchment paper.
• Toss eggplant with oil, salt and pepper. Spread on the tray and roast for 20 minutes.
• Flip, then roast for a further 5 minutes. Cool on tray (this helps the eggplant hold its shape when tossing).
• Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Start cooking the pasta a couple of minutes after you start making the sauce (next section), until al dente or to your liking.
• Heat oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, cook for 20 seconds until golden, then add onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent and cooked through.
• Increase heat to medium-high and add wine, if using. Let it simmer, scraping the base of the pan to deglaze, until the wine mostly evaporates.
• Add tomato passata. Now pour the water into the passata bottle, screw on the lid, shake, and pour that in too (waste nothing!)
• Add dried herbs, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Stir and simmer 5 minutes.
• Stir in eggplant, then add cooked and drained pasta. GENTLY toss until pasta is coated in the sauce (so the eggplant doesn't turn into complete mush!).
• Serve immediately, garnished with a good pinch of fresh basil and parmesan.

EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• A large, nonstick skillet with a cover works best for this recipe.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook until it begins to get soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil and saute onion and garlic until onion is golden.
• Add celery, tomato sauce, and a few tablespoons of water. Cover and let steam for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if necessary.
• Return eggplant to pan, add capers, and olives.
• Heat the vinegar with the sugar and add to eggplant mixture.
• Salt and pepper to taste, and simmer gently for another 10-15 minutes, being careful not to let it burn.
• Serve hot or or cold, with slices of lemon.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND BASIL

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the raisins, sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and let cook about 2 minutes, then cover and set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high. Stir in half the eggplant to coat evenly in the oil, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned in spots, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. (Eggplant should brown and tenderize but still maintain its shape.) Heat another 1/4 cup oil, then add remaining eggplant; season and repeat.
• While the eggplant cooks, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain pasta. (You might not use all the pasta water.)
• Add another 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the shallot, pine nuts, capers, garlic and red-pepper flakes, stirring frequently, until the shallot is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant, along with the sliced basil and vinegar.
• Strain the soaked raisins, discarding the soaking liquid, then add the raisins to the eggplant mixture and toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. The mixture should taste quite aggressively salty and tangy, but it will mellow when tossed with pasta and ricotta. (Eggplant mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
• Add eggplant mixture, pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss to coat over medium heat until eggplant is warmed, adding extra pasta water if necessary. Divide among shallow bowls, top with ricotta and additional torn basil and serve immediately. Pass with additional olive oil for drizzling, if desired.

SAUTEED EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND ANCHOVIES

Steps:

• Peel the eggplant and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.
• Pour the olive oil in a highly heated large nonstick skillet and add the eggplant, red and green peppers and the onions. Cook and stir until tender. Do not overcook.
• Add the garlic, salt, pepper, pepper flakes, rosemary, capers and anchovies. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND OLIVES RECIPE

Steps:

• Trim top and bottom from eggplant.
• Cut into cubes and set in a colander. Toss cubes with a little salt and let drain for 15 minutes.
• Rinse well and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Slice the white and light green parts of the leek.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute leek until soft, 3-4 minutes.
• Add rinsed eggplant to skillet. Saute until soft, 5-15 minutes.
• Add olives, capers, nuts and red pepper flakes. Heat through.
• Toss with drained pasta, adding small amounts of additional olive oil if desired.
• Top each serving with grated cheese.

PASTA WITH EGGPLANT, CAPERS, AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Toss eggplant with salt in a colander set in a large bowl, then let drain, tossing occasionally, 1 hour.
• While eggplant drains, rinse capers in a sieve and transfer to a small bowl. Cover capers with water by 2 inches and soak 30 minutes. Drain, then repeat soaking. Drain and rinse capers, then squeeze dry and coarsely chop.
• Roast bell pepper on rack of a gas burner over moderately high heat, turning with tongs, until skin is blackened, about 5 minutes. (Or broil pepper on a broiler pan about 5 inches from heat, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes.) Transfer to a bowl, then cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let pepper steam 10 minutes.
• When cool enough to handle, peel pepper and discard seeds, stem, and ribs. Pat pepper dry and purée in a blender until smooth.
• Rinse eggplant and pat dry thoroughly. Heat vegetable oil in a 4-quart pot over high heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer. Fry one third of eggplant, stirring gently, until just golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Fry remaining eggplant in 2 batches, returning oil to 375°F between batches.
• Pulse together olives, basil, mint, parsley, marjoram, and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor until finely chopped.
• Finely chop remaining garlic clove and cook in olive oil along with anchovy in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until anchovy dissolves and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase heat to moderate and stir in pepper purée, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in olive mixture, capers, and wine and cook, stirring, until wine is evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in eggplant (sauce will be very thick) and remove from heat. Keep warm, covered.
• Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and stir into sauce. Season with salt.
• *Available at specialty foods shops and chefshop.com.