Caponata With Pine Nuts And Raisins Food

EASY CAPONATA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add celery and cook uncovered until softened, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander and immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process. Drain.
• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat; add onion and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant, red bell peppers, and zucchini and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, vinegar, and sugar. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add olives, raisins, pine nuts, and capers. Season with salt and pepper and cook until flavors are well combined, about 5 minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat; stir in chopped basil. Cool and serve at room temperature.

CAPONATA WITH PINE NUTS AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Coat 2 cookie sheets with 2 tablespoons olive oil each, spread with eggplant and roast about 10-12 minutes. Remove.
• Saute garlic in 2 tablespoons olive oil over moderate heat until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the onions and celery and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.
• Stir together vinegar and sugar. Add to the onion-tomato mixture along with the eggplant and raisins. Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. (May be made to this point up to 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.).
• When ready to serve, let come to room temperature and stir in remaining ingredients. Serve with pita bread crisps.

CAPONATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, toss the eggplant generously with olive oil and salt, to taste. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast until the eggplant is soft and mushy, about 15 to 20 minutes. Reserve.
• Coat a wide deep pot with olive oil. Toss in the onion and crushed red pepper and season with salt, to taste. Cook over medium-high heat until the onions are soft and aromatic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add the fennel, celery and garlic and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the peppers and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Add the zucchini, season with salt, to taste, and cook until the zucchini and all the veggies are soft and aromatic and starting to come together as a stew, about 5 to 6 minutes. Toss in the eggplant, 1/2 cup of water and the tomato paste. Cook until the water has evaporated. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a small bowl and add it to the mixture. Stir in the raisins, capers, pine nuts and mint. Cook for another 5 to 6 minutes.
• Let cool and transfer the caponata to a serving bowl. Serve immediately or even better tomorrow or the next day.

GRILLED CAPONATA

Steps:

• Heat your grill to high. Brush the eggplant, onion slices and tomatoes with olive oil and season each type of vegetable with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Grill the eggplant for 6 to 8 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Grill the onions for 3 to 4 minutes per side until golden brown and just cooked through. Grill the tomatoes for 2 minutes per side until charred and slightly soft. Remove to a cutting board and cut into quarters.
• Remove the vegetables from the grill to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer the vegetables to a medium bowl and add the olives, capers, raisins and pine nuts.
• Mix together the garlic, red pepper flakes, vinegar and honey in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil and whisk until emulsified.
• Pour the dressing over the vegetables, add the parsley and stir gently to combine. Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before serving.

CAPONATA WITH FENNEL, OLIVES AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, bell peppers, fennel, and garlic; sauté until eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add olives and raisins, then mix in tomato sauce and vinegar. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Uncover and simmer until caponata is thick and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes longer. Mix in basil.
• Season caponata to taste with sugar, salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve at room temperature. Makes 6 cups.

CAPONATA WITH PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Toss eggplants with 2 tablespoons salt in a colander set over a bowl; chill 3-10 hours.
• Gather up eggplants in a kitchen towel; squeeze out excess liquid. Combine eggplants, fennel, and vegetable oil in a large heavy pot set over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplants are golden brown and fennel is soft, 20-25 minutes. Transfer vegetables to paper towels to drain; let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, toast pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, tossing often, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Cook onion, chiles, and garlic, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned, 6-8 minutes. Stir in paprika and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar; bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add nuts, cranberries, and eggplant mixture. Toss until heated through and glazed; season with salt. Let cool; serve with bread.

CAPONATA

Steps:

• Pour the olive oil into a large heavybased saucepan or casserole, place over a medium heat and add the aubergines. Cook for a good 15-20 mins until they are soft. Scoop the aubergines out of the pan - you should be left with some olive oil. Add the shallots and cook for about 5 mins until they are soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook slowly, so they break down and turn to a soft mush, then add the aubergines back to the pan. Now put in the capers, raisins, celery and vinegar, season well and cover with a lid. Cook over a low heat for 40 mins, until all the vegetables are soft. Stir gently so it doesn't break up too much; the stew should smell sweet and sour.
• When the caponata is cooked, leave to cool slightly while you make the bruschetta. Heat a griddle pan, drizzle the bread with olive oil and griddle until toasted and lightly charred on both sides, then rub with a garlic clove and season. Serve the warm caponata scattered with the basil leaves and pine nuts, with bruschetta on the side.

CAPONATA WITH FENNEL, OLIVES, AND RAISINS

Steps:

• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, bell peppers, fennel, and garlic; sauté until eggplant is tender, about 10 minutes. Add olives and raisins, then mix in tomato sauce and vinegar. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer until caponata is thick and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes longer. Mix in basil. Season caponata to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Serve at room temperature.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA PASTA WITH RICOTTA AND BASIL

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the raisins, sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 cup water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and let cook about 2 minutes, then cover and set aside.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high. Stir in half the eggplant to coat evenly in the oil, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned in spots, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. (Eggplant should brown and tenderize but still maintain its shape.) Heat another 1/4 cup oil, then add remaining eggplant; season and repeat.
• While the eggplant cooks, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water, then drain pasta. (You might not use all the pasta water.)
• Add another 2 tablespoons oil to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cook the shallot, pine nuts, capers, garlic and red-pepper flakes, stirring frequently, until the shallot is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the eggplant, along with the sliced basil and vinegar.
• Strain the soaked raisins, discarding the soaking liquid, then add the raisins to the eggplant mixture and toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. The mixture should taste quite aggressively salty and tangy, but it will mellow when tossed with pasta and ricotta. (Eggplant mixture can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
• Add eggplant mixture, pasta and 1/2 cup reserved pasta water to the pot. Toss to coat over medium heat until eggplant is warmed, adding extra pasta water if necessary. Divide among shallow bowls, top with ricotta and additional torn basil and serve immediately. Pass with additional olive oil for drizzling, if desired.