Caponatina Di Melanzane in Agrodolce (medley of Sweet and Sour Eggplant)
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- 2 medium sized eggplants
- salt
- the best olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 3 inner, white celery ribs, diced
- 3 cup drained, canned Italian plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
- 1/4 cup capers
- 1/4 cup pignoli (pine nuts)
- 2 T sugar
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- freshly milled black pepper
Instructions
Soak the raisins in warm water for 30 mins. Drain and pat dry. Wash the eggplants and cut into 1" cubes. Put the cubes in a colander, sprinkle with salt, and let stand for 1 hour to drain. Rinse quickly and pat dry. Pour 1/2" olive oil in a skillet. When it's hot, add the eggplant cubes without crowding them. Fry to a nice golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and continue untill all the eggplant is done. Discard all but a slight bit of the oil. Add the onion and celery and saute over medium heat until the onion is a pale yellow. Press the tomatoes through a food mill or strainer to remove the seeds. Add the tomatoes, eggplant, olives, capers, pine nuts, raisins, vinegar, suger, and liberal amounts of milled black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cook uncovered for 15 mins. Let caponatina cool to room temperature before serving. Serve with bruschetta as an appetizer.