A Very Good Thing: Eggplant Caponata

Been going 'round the produce store a lot recently. Found the finest canned tomatoes I've ever had, as well as these great little Holland eggplant. Their sweet flesh and non-existent seeds make them pretty, pretty, pretty good for any recipe calling for eggplant. Plus there's this:

In China, as part of her "bride price," a woman must have at least 12 eggplant recipes prior to her wedding day. In Turkey, "imam bayeldi," a tasty treat of stuffed eggplant simmered in olive oil is said to have made a religious leader swoon in ecstasy (ed. note: the other interpretation of the name is that the priest fainted when he learned how much olive oil the wife had to use to cook the ultra-absorbent eggplant). When first introduced in Italy, people believed that anyone who ate the "mad apple" (ed. note: melanzane to Italian speakers) was sure to go insane.


Here's a fantastic recipe for one of my favorite things to ingest, eggplant caponata.

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Ingredients:

3 Holland eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 28oz. can of La Fede whole tomatoes (hand crushed)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 small red onion, diced
2 tbsp of capers (buy salt packed, not brined, and rinse well before use)
several dashes of red wine vinegar

salt
red pepper flakes (to taste)

In a large, heavy-bottomed sautee pan heat half of the olive oil and sautee the vegetables. When the eggplant has gotten a little color and the celery and onion have softened, add salt (add salt earlier and the vegetables will exude liquid and they will just steam), capers, vinegar and the tomatoes. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for an hour or so, until the whole shebang has reduced a bit and the vegetables have cooked entirely through.

Serve with bruschetta or anything one would put into one's mouth.

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By the way, if all this is too much for you, Trader Joe's makes a hell of a jarred eggplant caponata for only three bucks.