I had been contemplating cooking this delicate and healthy dish for quite a while, ever since I tried and loved it at my sister-in-law's place, only to be sidetracked by Ina Garten, Chuck Hughes and Ree Drummond on the Food Network channel with their propensity for baked, barbequed, sauced, Flambed and every-other-technique-ever-known-to-man (read non-vegetarian) meals. I usually prefer cooking non-vegetarian dishes because I feel they provide me with a wider range of options and more room for innovation...However, this dish was never far from my mind, and I decided today, as I browsed through the vegetable aisle at the grocery store, to go for it, since I was craving something light and tangy and healthy...Besides, I frankly needed a healthy change from those oh-so-crispy and delicious wings and potato wedges that I usually pick up at the deli of our local Walmart (They are so good, I can never truly get tired of them!)
So I went ahead and picked up an eggplant and some vinegar, along with a few other items, Here are the ingredients:
1 huge eggplant
A can of italian seasoned diced tomatoes (You can choose the plain diced tomatoes or even the full tomatoes and add your own seasoning, I just like this canned variety because it tastes so good in my italian inspired dishes and makes great sauces)
3 tea spoons of distilled white vinegar (The actual recipe calls for red wine vinegar, which I am sure would be better, but it wasn't available at the time)
2 teaspoons Chole Masala (My own touch)
Italian seasoning (optional..I got the bottle at the store, you can add whatever combination suits your fancy, oregano alone, or oregano and basil, oregano, basil and thyme and so on..The seasoned diced tomato pretty much covers them all)
Chillie powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cloves of garlic (This is what makes the dish so delicious, besides the vinegar)
Canola oil or if you want to go more healthy, Olive Oil
1 large onion
To prepare the Caponata
First pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut your eggplant into small cubes, place them in a baking dish and sprinkle with olive oil. Place the baking dish in the oven for 20 minutes. Another recipe suggests baking the egg-plant for only 12 minutes at 200 degrees for a firmer texture. You can try that option if you choose. I personally don't mind the slightly 'Baingan Bharta' like texture, though we don't mash the eggplant for this recipe.
While the eggplant is being baked, heat oil in a vessel. Cut the onions and mince your garlic cloves and cook them till they are transparent. By now your eggplant should be baked and ready. Add the cubed eggplant to the onion and garlic and saute them till they are browned, about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and two teaspoons of the vinegar (you can add the third spoon once your caponata is nearly done and if you feel you need a little more acidity). Mix them well, add half a tea-spoon of chillie powder if you like it spicy, and then, if you want to add your own indian touch, chole masala (I used two teaspoons), I loved the flavor and the color it gave to the dish..Add salt and pepper as needed, and if you crave a little more acidity add a teaspoon more of the vinegar. I pretty much started stuffing my face at this point. The tangy combination of tomatoes, eggplant and the light acidity from the vinegar was indescribable..
By now your Caponata should be ready, since you have already oven roasted it..If you would like your Eggplant's texture to be less firm, you could cook it for a few more minutes. The whole dish took me about 20 minutes in addition to the baking time. The best part about this dish is you can eat it hot or cold, with rice or without and also as a side dish. I had it with plain white rice, but it tastes equally good on toast, garlic bread, crackers and... pita chips. If you don't try this dish with pita chips, you will seriously be missing out!
It's dishes like this that make me contemplate turning vegetarian.While that will probably never happen...ever (I love my meat too much), I look forward to making this dish again..just to experience its heavenly tangy goodness all over again...Now excuse me, while I sign off to clean up my very messy kitchen :(
No comments:
Post a Comment