Caponata

Caponata atop smoked mozzarella in a baguette

Thanks to my Caponata Ragu we know all about the origins of Caponata. One of my favorite chefs was Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet who passed away n 2004. The first time I made my own caponata -- probably in 1985 -- it was Jeff's recipe that provided the inspiration and guidance. Over the years I've tweaked the ingredients and the method, but for this post, I dug out my old Frugal Gourmet cookbook for a refresher on Jeff's method and ingredients.

THE RECIPE:

2Lb eggplant cut into 1" cubes and set

2T table salt

Toss the eggplant with the salt and set it in a colander over a bowl for 20 to 30 minutes to extract some of the water in the eggplant

3/4C coarsely chopped celery

2/4 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic minced

Olive oil for sauteing

3C chopped tomatoes (I used combination of 1 can diced and enough chopped Campari tomatoes to make the 3 cups.

6 large green olives chopped

2T capers

4-5 anchovies in oil

1/2C red wine vinegar

1/4C sugar

While the eggplant is draining, saute the onion garlic and celery in 2T olive oil for 15 minutes.

Transfer the celery onion mixture to a large stock pot and set aside

Add another 2 T of olive oil to the frying pan and saute the eggplant until lightly browned.

While the eggplant is sauteing, add the tomatoes, olives, capers anchovies, vinegar and sugar to the stock pot.

When the eggplant has browned, transfer it to the stock pot and cover heating on low.

If there is residue in the frying pan from the eggplant, pour 1/4 - 1/2 cup of red wine in the hot pan to deglaze.

Add the mixture to the stock pot.

Simmer on low for an hour or so until the mixture reduces by half and is a rich dark tomato color.

I used mason jars for storage but did not process them so they need to be kept refrigerated. The caponata keeps for months when unopened in the fridge. I like it served cold on baguettes of bread or crackers, but the sky's the limit as it can be a pizza topping, slathered on an Italian sub, calzone filling..... the list goes on.

For this post, I decided to make some French baguette bread to provide the foundation for some smoked mozzarella topped with the caponata.

Caponata on baguette with smoked mozzarella:the start of a nice charcuterie.

NOTE and DISCLAIMER:

It wasn't until I finished writing this post that I went to find a link to some info about Jeff Smith and learned of his sordid past and allegations of sexual misconduct. (I literally had no ides....) The man has been dead for 20+ years and has made monetary restitution to the victims; while that doesn't exhortation him, it makes me feel less guilty about being too lazy to rewrite this post.