Lunch · 45 min · mediterranean

Caponata

Eggplants does the heavy lifting here, with celery rounding it out. A Mediterranean lunch that takes 45 minutes, start to finish.

Ingredients

• 2 large Eggplants
• 3 stalks Celery
• 1 Red onion
• 14 oz Crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup Green olives
• 3 tbsp Capers
• 1/4 cup Red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp Sugar

Steps

1. Cube the eggplant, salt 20 minutes, rinse, and pat dry — this keeps the cubes intact instead of melting to mush.
2. Fry the eggplant in olive oil until golden on all sides, about 10 minutes; set aside.
3. Soften the celery, onion, olives, and capers in the same pan 8 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes and simmer 10 minutes into a chunky sauce.
5. Stir in the vinegar and sugar; the agrodolce sweet-sour balance is the signature — taste and adjust until it sings.
6. Fold the eggplant back in and simmer 5 minutes so it drinks up the sauce.
7. Serve at room temperature, never hot; caponata improves over 24 hours as the flavors marry.

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