Italian Caponata Appetizer

We had a very Happy Thanksgiving and a very happy 40th Birthday celebration for our daughter! Thank you for all your good wishes!

Our Christmas tree was up and decorated for the very first time, ever, before Thanksgiving Day. We decided that getting a large real tree was getting too heavy and hard for us to bring in and out of our home every holiday, so we bought a new pre-lighted artificial tree.  Since we were concerned about supply chain issues we ordered it early online and put it together to make sure the lights were working.  It is 9 feet tall so once it was up we decided to keep it up and decorate it, and we were very happy with the final results.  Thanksgiving eve we had snow flurries, and our backyard Colorado blue spruce tree collected some snow but sadly not much else accumulated. The Denver area record for the latest snow was broken a week ago and has had temperatures into the 70s. It is very strange weather and a bit worrisome as it has been very dry

Some of our Thanksgiving Day appetizer lunch is in the first photo collage, and these were the entrees I made for our dinner. Lots of food, lots of favorites, and everyone took home leftovers.

 

Desserts were birthday ice cream cake, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, and apple pie.  The apple pie crust decorations before on the right, and after on the left. They looked better before baking!

One appetizer we really enjoyed this Thanksgiving was homemade Caponata. Caponata is a Sicilian sweet and sour version of ratatouille, with a mixture of eggplant, celery, red peppers, onions, tomatoes, olives, etc, in an agrodolce sauce. I made some crostini to serve with the caponata by thinly slicing baguette type loaf bread and toasting the slices in the oven, brushing them first with olive oil, garlic, and parsley on top,

To make the Caponata I used a New York Times recipe with the addition of pine nuts (pignoli nuts) imported from Italy.  Caponata is best made the day ahead of serving, so it can marinate and is best eaten at room temperature.

 CAPONATA

 Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds eggplant (1 large), roasted
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, from the inner, tender stalks (the heart), diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 red bell peppers, diced
Salt to taste
1 pound ripe tomatoes, preferably Roma, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped, or 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (in puree) 3 heaped tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pitted green olives
1/2 cup toasted Italian Pine Nuts (pignoli nuts)--optional.
2 tablespoons plus a pinch of sugar
3 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (more to taste)
freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation:

1) Roast the eggplant, allow to cool, and chop coarsely.

2 ) Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet and add the onion and celery. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook together for a minute, until the garlic begins to smell fragrant, and add the peppers and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, until just about tender, about 8 minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil and the eggplant, and stir together for another 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. The eggplant will fall apart, which is fine. Season to taste.

3) Add the tomatoes to the pan with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stir, and scrape the bottom of the pan often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat and they smell fragrant. Add the capers, olives, remaining sugar, and vinegar.  Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are thoroughly tender and the mixture is quite thick, sweet, and fragrant. Stir in the pine nuts. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Allow cooling to room temperature. If possible, cover and chill overnight. Serve at room temperature. Enjoy spoonfuls of Caponata eaten plain or served on slices of crostini or crackers.

November has continued to give us some remarkable skies and sunsets. 

 

Let's hope December will bring us some well-needed snow!

Wishing all who celebrate this week a very Happy Hanukkah!

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