caponata & jersey tomatoes at....kitchen! kitchen!



Caponata of fresh jersey tomatoes and baby eggplants.



I have not made caponata in a long while, and with the summer abundance of jersey tomatoes and young and firm baby eggplants, I decided to do one. I simply googled on a "Classic Caponata". I did substituted some ingredients. but there is no reason that you shouldn't follow the classic recipe unless you are feeling kind of adventurous like me.

Here is a list of some of the key ingredients that I substituted:
Classic recipe:

1- 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes  - Instead I roasted 8 luscious medium size ripe jersey tomatoes, salted and some sprinkling of olive oil for 40 minutes in the oven along with 6 cloves of garlic with the skin on. After it cooled - I removed the skins of the tomatoes and roughly chopped them. I did the same with tha garlic. Transfered them to a bowl with juice and all the bits in the pan.

Wine Vinegar - I used a good balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup of good white wine

Simmer for 12-15 minutes until cooked - I simmered the dish for 15 minutes on the stove top and continued to simmer it in the oven at 350F for another 30-40 minutes until completely cooked and soft. I did this to avoid the vegetables to stick to the bottom of the pan and thus avoid the constant stirring. Becaused I used young firm baby eggplants, it took longer to cook.

It's great topping on fish, meat and just about on anything!