A few weeks ago I was watching the Food Network and got drawn into the Barefoot Contessa's episode on cooking from local food. In the first 15 minutes she went to a farmers' market and whipped up an impressive looking eggplant caponata for an appetizer. It was vegetarian-friendly and looked easy enough to make. I was scheduled to go to one of Collin's family gatherings the next day and thought it might be a good dish to roll in with.
Here's the recipe from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-eggplant-caponata-recipe/index.html
Ingredients
1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pounds)
Good olive oil
4 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup large green olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
3 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Toasted pita triangles, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Place the whole eggplant on the pan, prick with a fork in several places, and rub with olive oil. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft when pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool. Halve the eggplant, peel, and discard the skin. Place the eggplant, peppers, and olives in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour into a mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onion is lightly browned. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, and add to the eggplant mixture. Add the parsley, pine nuts, lemon juice, capers, tomato paste, vinegar, salt, and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop. Taste for seasonings and serve at room temperature with toasted pita triangles.
1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pounds)
Good olive oil
4 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup large green olives, pitted and chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
3 tablespoons minced parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons drained capers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
Toasted pita triangles, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Place the whole eggplant on the pan, prick with a fork in several places, and rub with olive oil. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft when pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool. Halve the eggplant, peel, and discard the skin. Place the eggplant, peppers, and olives in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour into a mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onion is lightly browned. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, and add to the eggplant mixture. Add the parsley, pine nuts, lemon juice, capers, tomato paste, vinegar, salt, and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop. Taste for seasonings and serve at room temperature with toasted pita triangles.
The basic cliff notes version is that there are many expensive ingredients (read: pine nuts, capers) and it takes over an hour to put together. I ended up not having time to make the dip before the party, but once I did make it-- it was delicious. I certainly would not make the investment again until I actually do need to bring a food item to impress.
The best part of the recipe, however, was the footnote: "serve with toasted pita triangles." Ina did not show me how to do that! With some googling, I came up with this method:
1 package of Joseph's pita
olive oil
salt and pepper
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Split the pita in half (so it is one layer) and cut into smaller pieces. Spread the pieces on a cookie sheet and brush a bit of olive oil onto each one. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (or garlic).
3. Bake for about 8 minutes.
I brought the pita chips to work to share with co-workers and they were a big hit! Plus they are less expensive than Stacy's pre-made pita chips.
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