Rosalie Hurd must have been fond of Italian food, as "Italian" recipes (some of which definitely deserve the scare quotes) have their own section, apart from the rest of the "foreign dishes" in her 1968 cookbook, Ten Talents. I was tempted by the caponatina - which I gather is the same as caponata, but with everything chopped small enough to spread on bread. I may have chopped too large to be technically caponatina, but so goes a lazy evening after work.
Rosalie's original recipe made approximately one metric ton, so I cut it down a bit, and made it fit the ingredients I had on hand. It was a very pleasant fate for the last of this year's eggplant avalanche.
2 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed
1 small bunch celery, chopped
5.75 oz jar chopped green olives
3.5 oz jar capers (I used the big ones)
1 small onion, chopped
1 t salt
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 t granulated garlic
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 c olive oil
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
Salt the eggplant and leave to drain for a few minutes. Toss with just enough of the oil to coat, and place on a baking sheet under the broiler. Turn regularly until all sides have browned. Set aside.
Mix everything else except the lemon juice and simmer until the celery and garlic soften - see shadowy November photograph above. Remove from heat and stir in the eggplant and lemon juice. Serve chilled with Italian bread.
2 comments:
Ten Talents. Talent #1: Making a metric tonne of food.
METRIC TONNE. Sadly, I didn't get many eggplants this year or I too would explore this exotic "foreign" cuisine.
Post a Comment