Caponata - easy and delicious

Caponata is something I ate a lot growing up, but never knew the real name – my grandmother used to make it all the time, especially when there were a lot of people to feed, and she served it with bread or on small toasts, canapé style. I loved it and would ask her to make it again and again – I used to call it “my grandma’s eggplant dish”, having no idea it was such a staple of Italian cuisine.

It took me forever to make caponata myself, maybe because it has always been something so attached to my grandma’s cooking, but my husband asked me to make it and I decided to give it a go, especially after going through some of my books and finding a recipe by Andrew Carmellini on one of my favorite cookbooks – it is his the most delicious gnocchi I’ve ever made, and I ate at both Lafayette and Locanda Verde when I was in NYC, so I trust the guy. ;)

Andrew’s caponata is very easy to put together and it tastes great, not to mention it benefits from a day of two in the fridge – I’m all for making things in advance, so this recipe has become part of my repertoire and I hope it becomes part of yours, too.

Caponata
slightly adapted from the delicious Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food

1/3 cup (80ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1 red onion, diced large
1 yellow pepper, diced large
1 Italian eggplant, diced large
3 stalks of celery, diced large
1 zucchini, diced large
½ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
1 400g (14oz) can chopped peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar – I used sherry vinegar

Heat olive oil in a large saucepot over high heat. Add the onion, pepper and eggplant. When the vegetables have softened a bit (about 5 minutes), add the celery and zucchini. Season with half the salt and black pepper. Mix the ingredients together and continue to cook.

After ten 10 minutes, add the red pepper flakes and garlic. Cover and reduce the heat to medium, and let the steam roast the vegetables for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, until vegetables are soft but not falling apart and the tomatoes are well incorporated. Mix in the balsamic vinegar and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove the saucepot from the heat, add the thyme and season with remaining salt and pepper (add more salt to taste if necessary). Mix in vinegar.

The caponata can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days (I thought it tasted better the day after it was made).

Serves 8-10

Chorizo, beef and couscous stuffed peppers - dedicated to two certain kids

As I was reading the “news” days ago on People online, I found out that Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have separated. Ok, alright, divorces happen, they’re part of life. People are already making fun of their “conscious uncoupling” (lol), I’m no saint and must confess that this link made me laugh out loud – I guess that it’s a matter of time before the kids ask to live with dad instead of mom, right? :D

When the kids move to Chris Martin’s house he can even cook this recipe for them: these stuffed peppers are delicious and while they’re in the oven dad can play with the kids or even write them a special song – mommy won’t be around to forbid them to eat bell peppers... :D

Chorizo, beef and couscous stuffed peppers
slightly adapted from Dish magazine

6 long red peppers or red bell peppers
¼ cup couscous
¼ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 chorizo sausage, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
400g beef mince
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 400g-can chopped tomatoes
handful fresh basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
Sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and paprika until the onion is tender. Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the basil, stir to combine, cover and remove from the heat. Set aside.

Peppers: Combine the couscous and water in a small bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes
Trim the stems off the peppers and remove the seeds, keeping the peppers whole. Place in large heatproof dish and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave for 5 minutes then lift out and drain well. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and cook the onion, carrot, garlic and paprika until the onion is tender. Stir in the chorizo and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Tip into a large bowl and cool. Add the couscous and mince, season generously and combine well.

To assemble: Holding each pepper upright, drop in small pieces of the stuffing then use the handle of a wooden spoon to gently push it right to the bottom of the pepper. Continue until full to the top and repeat with the remaining peppers. You may not use all of the filling. Tip the tomato sauce into a large shallow baking dish and place the peppers and their stems, on top (I secured the tops with toothpicks before baking the peppers). Roll any unused filling into balls and place around the peppers. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden and the peppers are tender when pierced with a skewer.

Serves 4-6 – I filled two very large peppers with half the recipe for the filling and got 6 meatballs; I baked everything using 1 whole sauce recipe