Caponata of my grandmother Carmela

Yesterday I visited with my family some friends who live in the countryside, near the Park of Maremma, in Tuscany where I leave… wonderful! We harvest the vegetables from the garden, basil, lettuce, tomatoes, nice to eat the vegetables that still have the warmth of the sun ... so today, with eggplant, peppers, which I have been given away I decided to make the caponata. Typical dish of Sicily, which was the region of birth of my Grandma Carmela, great cook and women unsurpassed! This recipe is one of the many variants of this appetizer / side dish. Use only fresh ingredients, simmer and let stand after cooking for at least half a day in the fridge and then serve warm.

 











What do you need

1 white onion

1 shallot

2 bell peppers (one red and one yellow)

4 ribs of celery

1 eggplant

10 leaves of basil

100 g. green olives

salt / pepper

130g. Extra virgin olive oil

40g. toasted almonds

1 glass of white wine vinegar

25g. sugar

50g. capers

 

Cut the eggplant into cubes, place in colander and season with salt so that it loses its bitterness. Brown the onion with the olive oil and white scallions chopped finely, then add the basil, pepper, celery and eggplant into small cubes. Season with salt and pepper, cook for about 20 minutes. Then add the olives and capers and cook for another ten minutes, then pour the vinegar with the sugar and evaporate for 5 minutes. Put in a tray large caponata, garnish with toasted chopped almonds. Let cool and store in fridge, eat after 10 hours.

Think Ahead: I chopped the almond using a knife not a food processor.