Caponata--Sicilian Eggplant Salad

It seemed to me that caponata recipes featured in every Italian cook book and on every culinary blog. But when I served it a couple of times recently to my friends no one knew caponata, everyone though liked it very much. Particularly, my vegetarian friends enjoyed caponata as a rich and satisfying dish.

Ever since I discovered that caponata was not as popular as I thought, I have been making it very often. It can be prepared even a day ahead which makes it a very handy party dish. It can be served alone or with grilled meats.

Before I left on vacation I bought some beautiful Sicilian eggplants at my market and made caponata for an upcoming party. Then I realized that one of the guests was Sicilian. I rather avoid cooking Italian food for Italians as they are usually very particular about how the dish should taste.

When my guest saw a bowl of cooked eggplants with tomatoes, he obviously recognized right away his national dish. I was anxiously waiting for his verdict. Just after the first bite of caponata when all the flavors melted in his mouth he raised his thumb with approval. And as a proof that my caponata was really good he took a second portion. By the end of the evening a big bowl of caponata disappeared to the last piece, complemented by all the guests.

So today I share a recipe for caponata that is Sicilian-approved.

Caponata

Ingredients:
4 medium eggplants,
1 large onion, chopped,
1/4 cup golden raisins,
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 Roma tomatoes, peeled,
1/4 cup sugar,
1/4 cup red wine vinegar,
1/4 cup green pitted olives,
2 tbsp capers,
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley,
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil,
4 tbsp olive oil.

Preparation:
1. Cut off and discard the green ends from the eggplants, slice the eggplants, sprinkle with salt, and put aside for an hour.
2. Use paper towel to sponge up the juice that eggplants released. Cut each slice into small cubes.
3. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil until very hot. Add eggplants and fry them for about 10 minutes, turning frequently, until slightly brown. Transfer eggplants to a bowl.
4. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil on the same frying pan and sauté the chopped onion until transparent. Add garlic and fry for another 2 minutes.
5. To peel the tomatoes, cover them first with boiling water for a minute. Drain them, then cover with cold water. Peel them off and cut into cubes. 6. Add tomatoes to the onion and cook for about 3 minutes. Add everything to the eggplants. Season with salt and pepper.

7. On the same pan heat together sugar with vinegar until sugar dissolves. Add raisins, capers and olives. Add to the pan eggplants with tomatoes and bring everything to boil.Turn off the heat.
8. Transfer eggplants to the large bowl. Add chopped parsley and basil and cool completely. Serve cold.

Eggplants Marinated in Herbs

My favorite eggplant dishes are those in which eggplants are accompanied by tomatoes. This combination is perfect if tomatoes are slightly sour and freshen up the bland and delicate taste of the eggplants. But recently, when I went through a pile of culinary books, most of them Italian, I found several eggplant recipes which did not call for tomatoes. I thought them worth trying, hoping to discover something that would go beyond that traditional eggplant-tomato scheme.

Every time I had guests over, I tested on them different eggplant dishes without tomatoes. Two of the dishes that I was most excited about turned out to be so bland and mild that they did not make it to the table. A third one, the simplest, came out very aromatic and almost spicy. I doubled the amount of dressing in which eggplants were marinated and added oregano, which is often used in Mediterranean eggplant recipes. That dish was a clear winner.

In eggplant preparation, the longest and most messy part is when eggplants need to be fried. But when we are done with that step a simply marinade is poured over eggplants after which they just need to stay for a few hours, or even overnight. And the lovely dish is just ready. It can be made a day before and chilled until served.

Eggplant Marinated in Herbs

Ingredients:
3 medium-sized Italian eggplants,
2 garlic cloves minced,
10 mint leaves,
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves,
2 tbsp capers in brine, drained and chopped,
1 tsp hot pepper flakes,
2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice,
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for frying,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Slice eggplants into quarter inch-thick slices, salt on both sides and let it stand for an hour.
2. To make a marinade chop tiny mint and oregano leaves and put in a small bowl. Add minced garlic, chopped capers, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, a pinch of pepper and salt, and 4 tbsps of olive oil. Mix all the ingredients together. Set the marinade aside.

3. Using a paper towel, dry eggplant slices pressing gently each slice so the towel absorbs the brownish water released by them.
4. Preheat a large heavy duty frying pan until very hot. Brush each eggplant slice with oil and fry on both sides until light brown. Place fried eggplants on a plate with paper towel to absorb the extra oil. Follow with all the remaining slices.

5. When the eggplants cool down to room temperature, spread about one third of them in a medium dish. Drizzle them with marinade and gently press with a large spoon. Repeat this for each layer. Cover and let chill for at least 6 hours.

6. Serve at room temperature as a starter or grilled meat accompaniment.

Indian Eggplants in Coconut Sauce

Very often, especially during the summer, I buy eggplants, preferably, the smaller Italian eggplants, and make all kind of dishes from them. My favorite are two: Afghan, topped with yogurt sauce, and Italian, stuffed with ricotta and finished with fresh basil.

But although at the Asian store I often pass by a stand with baby Indian eggplants, only recently I bought them for the first time. I did not know any particular recipe calling for them but my culinary intuition was telling me that they would of course taste great in Indian spices but also cooked in the coconut milk. I did not want any tomato in it as all the eggplant dishes I make already call for them.

The most popular recipe for cooking these eggplants in coconut milk also called for broth and curry powder or a mix of different spices. I chose to use a combination of spices and finish it with fresh green curry leaves. They gave that dish a very unique taste that may be intriguing to those who are not familiar with curry leaves. This rich and spicy, but also a very delicate dish, as baby eggplants flesh is even more delicate than in the regular eggplants, became instantly popular in my home.

Yesterday, I made it again, but instead of curry leaves, which are not always easily available, I used coriander leaves, which I always have in my refrigerator. A friend, who happened to taste my dish last night, liked it a lot. That encouraged me to share this recipe today, as despite many spices it calls for, it is a very easy and wonderful dish.

Indian Eggplants in Coconut Sauce
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 lbs (about 12) baby eggplants,
1 medium onion, chopped,
4 garlic cloves, grated,
about 1 inch fresh ginger root, grated,
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk,
2 cups vegetable broth,
4 green cardamom pods,
4 cloves,
about 2-inch long piece of cinnamon,
1 tbsp ground coriander,
1 tsp ground cumin seeds,
1 tsp ground fennel seeds,
2 tsp turmeric,
salt and pepper to taste,
1 green chili, chopped,
2 limes,
3 tbsp vegetable oil,
1/4 cup chopped curry or coriander leaves.

Preparation:
1. Wash and drain eggplants. Cut off the stems and cut each eggplant into four pieces. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil in a large frying pan with high walls. Add chopped onion, grated ginger, and grated garlic. Fry for about 3 minutes until onion becomes transparent.
3. Once eggplants release some juice, dry them with a paper towel and add them to the pan. Fry for about 3 minutes until eggplants dry a bit. Add ground coriander, cumin, fennel, and turmeric. Fry until spices coat well the eggplants. Add the rest of spices--cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, and mix with eggplants. Follow with chopped green chili. Let it fry for another minute.
4. Add two cups of broth to the pan and let it boil. Pour in a can of coconut milk and bring it to boil. Turn the heat to low and let everything simmer for 15-20 minutes until eggplants become soft. You need to try them a few times as they should be soft but not overcooked and mushy.
5. Add ground pepper and salt to taste. Add chopped curry or coriander leaves.

Serve with rice and lime wedges (to be squeezed over the eggplants).

Eggplant Rolls--If You Don't Like Eggplants

Eggplants belong to my favorite vegetables. For the first time I ate them years ago when one of my Italian friends made a traditional Melanzane alla Parmigiana. It was absolutely delicious and the most tasty way to be introduced to this vegetables. From all different cuisines the way Italians serve them--with mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, as whole dish in itself or in pastas, is still my favorite. But I also met some surprisingly many people who do not like eggplants at all, as too bland and mushy in texture. Even my Afghan friend, who shared her family eggplant recipe, admitted that herself she did not like them too much.

Some time ago, at a dinner party, I served an eggplants dish. One of my guests, a Scandinavian friend, confessed that unfortunately he did not like them. Although there was choice of many other dishes, being a very sweet guest, he decided to try them. I am not sure why (probably out of courtesy) he took a second helping and said that they were really good and not at all what he remembered. I think it must have been really a traumatic culinary experience of his life, because when we met almost a year later at the other party he announced "You will be forever in my life a woman who convinced me to eat eggplants." So if you belong to that part of the mankind that does not appreciate this vegetable yet, maybe I will be able to get you to try them.

This dish comes from the Italian tradition as it use tomatoes and basil, but because it calls only for the ricotta cheese it is much lighter than other eggplant dishes.

Eggplant Rolls
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
4 medium eggplants, try to chose the long ones,
1 15-oz ricotta cheese, preferably fresh,
4 garlic cloves,
1 medium onion,
1 16-oz can of tomato sauce,
a bunch of fresh basil,
salt and pepper,
olive oil for frying.

Preparation:
1. Wash eggplants and dry them. Cut out green ends. Cut each vegetable alongside into a 1/4 inch-thick slices. Salt the slices and set aside for 20 minutes.
2.Clean up the brownish water that appears on the eggplant with paper towel.
3. Heat oil in a large frying pan (the largest you have) and fry each slice on both sides until slightly brown. Recently, instead of frying them I have been grilling eggplant slices brushed with oil until they are brown; grilled ones absorb less oil than when they are fried.

4. Preheat oven to 400F.
5. In a small pot heat one tbsp of olive oil, add chopped onion, and fry it for about 5 minutes, until it becomes transparent. Pour over tomatoes juice and simmer on a small heat for about 5 minutes.Take from the heat and set aside.
6. Put the ricotta cheese into a medium bowl. Add garlic, chopped basil, salt and pepper, and mix all the ingredients.
7. Spread a tbsp of ricotta on one side of each eggplant slice. Roll each slice up.

8. Pour most of the tomato sauce at a bottom of an oven proof dish and place eggplant rolls in it tight next to each other. Drizzle the remaining couple of spoons of the sauce on top of the eggplants. Cover everything with aluminium foil and put in the hot oven. Bake for about 30 minutes (sauce at the bottom needs to boil briefly).

Serve warm with a baguette and red wine.

Dinner with Neighbors--Delicious Eggplants

Full of energy after having spent a week at the sea shore I invited my neighbors for a long overdue dinner. We had this tradition to meet at least once a year at our place around Christmas when my family was visiting from Poland. My neighbors are vegetarian and the time before Christmas, including the Christmas Eve, is a perfect time to have them over for the seasonal Polish food, which is traditionally vegetarian. Unfortunately, this past year I took upon an obligation to do prepare desserts for several large parties at one of DC restaurants. I had to make desserts for several hundred people in my home kitchen and it became impossible to invite my neighbors at the same time for a dinner that would be worthy of their sophisticated palate. Meanwhile they managed to invite us over to their house at least a couple of times.

I made an all vegetarian dinner including a variety of dishes and a mocca mousse for dessert. Eggplants with yogurt sauce were the biggest hit. I got this recipe from my Afghan friend and I use it now, especially in the summer, more often than the several Italian recipes for eggplants that I got to know earlier. The Afghan dish is much lighter because it is served without cheese. It tastes best with any oriental bread.



Eggplants with Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:
3 large eggplants,
3 heirloom tomatoes,
4 large cloves of garlic,
2 hot peppers,
1 tsp ground coriander,

Yogurt sauce:
1 cup of plain Greek or any European-style yogurt,
1 tsp dried mint,
2 cloves of garlic,
salt and pepper to taste,
light olive oil for frying.

Preparation:
1. Wash and dry the whole eggplants.
2. Cut them in 1/2 inch thick slices.
3. Salt them and set aside until they "sweat" (i.e., juice drops will appear on the surface); this should take about 20 minutes.
4. Dry excess juice with a paper towel dry and
5. Fry eggplant slices in a big frying pan, until gold on both sides.
6. Preheat oven to 375F.
7. Cut tomatoes and garlic cloves into slices.
8. Arrange one third of the tomato slices and half of the garlic at the bottom of a large oven-proof dish and cover them with about one half of the eggplant slices.
9. Season them with salt, pepper, and dried coriander, and cover with a second layer of tomato slices and garlic.
10. Arrange the remaining eggplants slices on top and cover with another layer of tomato slices.
11. Add salt and pepper, cover with aluminium foil and put the whole dish in the oven.
12. Bake for about 30 minutes.
13. When tomatoes release juice and the whole dish is bubbling at the bottom, take off the foil and let some of the juice evaporate for about 10-15 minutes.
14. Meanwhile, to make yogurt sauce, mix yogurt with mint, minced garlic, salt, and pepper.
15. Take eggplants out of the oven, arrange on a plate, dress up with a spoon of yogurt sauce and serve with bread.