| ||
| ||
|
||
|
|
|
Sicilys Great Eggplant - Tomato Stew
I ran into a friend yesterday, who tells me that he should be harvesting eggplants from his garden any day now. Of course, this got me thinking about Caponata, the famous Sicilian eggplant and tomato stew. This is a terrific 'contorno', vegetable course, and also a great topping for 'bruschetta', Tuscany's grilled bread. Of course it's one of the quintessential Italian antipasti too. And when you can walk into your own garden and harvest the vegetables to put it together, Caponata becomes all the more magical. Italians have a particular fondness for 'le primizie', the smallest of the first crop of vegetables. So if you have access to a garden-either your own or a friend's-or if you can get to a farm stand, now is the time for you to be thinking about caponata too. The recipe below is excerpted from my first cookbook, "La Cucina dei Poveri." My Grandmother's Caponata When the garden was in full swing during the summer, Noonie (my grandmother) would harvest-well, more accurately, she would direct Pop (my grandfather) to harvest some eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers for this delicious antipasto that she referred to as 'Caponatina. My recollections fail as to how she served it, but I'm betting that it was over a piece of Italian bread that Pop had fried in olive oil. Nowadays, I serve it over bruschetta made from some good Tuscan bread which-I'm happy to report-seems to be turning up more and more frequently at supermarket bakeries. Ingredients:
Preparation: Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat, then add the garlic. Sauté until the garlic just begins to give off its aroma-perhaps a minute or two. Add the onion and sauté for about five minutes, until it becomes translucent. Add the eggplant and sauté for about five minutes or until it begins to soften, but still has plenty of texture. Add the peppers, olives, and capers and sauté until the peppers become tender. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking to incorporate the tomatoes with the other ingredients and to begin to form a sauce. Add the sugar, spreading it evenly over the pan, then the vinegar, raisins, mint, and red pepper flakes. Stir well to blend all the ingredients, then remove from the heat. Italians typically serve Caponata at room temperature. Serves four to six. About The Author Skip Lombardi is the author of two cookbooks: "La Cucina dei Poveri: Recipes from my Sicilian Grandparents," and "Almost Italian: Recipes from America's Little Italys." He has been a Broadway musician, high-school math teacher, software engineer, and a fledgeling blogger. But he has never let any of those pursuits get in the way of his passion for cooking and eating. Visit his Web site to learn more about his cookbooks. http://www.skiplombardi.com or contact Mr. Lombardi at
MORE RESOURCES:
Recipes - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Recipe: Chocolate Modeling Clay Ingredients:6 oz. chocolate chips5 teaspoons corn syrup1 gallon size zip-top bagRolling pin, cookie cutters, plastic table knifeDirections:1. Home Made Ice Cream Recipe for Coffee Can Ice Cream The very best thing about having birthday cake is the ice cream that goes along with it. This delicious home made ice cream recipe can be made with a few simple ingredients and a couple of coffee cans. Mexican Recipes - World Class Dishes In Your Kitchen! Here are two **Must Try** Mexican recipes! They are HOT, tasty and so easy!Chiles Rellenos Meatballs12 small potatoes, or 2 large baking potatoes2 tablespoons vegetable oil1 pound ground beef1/2 pound Anaheim chili peppers1/2 cup yellow onions -- minced4 eggs1/2 teaspoon saltblack pepper -- to tastegarlic salt -- to taste *Anaheim chilies, roasted, peeled and diced.Peel and boil potatoes until just tender. Bourbon BBQ Sauce If you are seeking a very unique flavored bbq sauce for your next barbeque then you must try bourbon bbq sauce. This is a very unique sauce that only you will know the secret ingredient. Famous Secret Recipes Exposed!: Rosemary Chicken with Orange-Maple Glaze Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes Ready In: 35 MinutesMakes: 4 servingsTo serve, place chicken on top of hot cooked rice on each plate and spoon sauce over the top. Wonderful served with steamed asparagus. Thai BBQ or Barbeque Chicken Recipes What makes Thai BBQ chicken recipes so delicious? It is all the wonderful and unique spices and ingredients that are used to deliver a flavor that are taste buds enjoy. These recipes are wonderful and give us a new view of how we look at barbeque sauces. Spanish Recipes - Tempting Tapas Dishes Spain is famous for its tapas and, whichever Spanish bar you frequent, in whichever area of the country, you are sure to find them.So, what exactly are "tapas" and where did the name come from?Tapas are, essentially, snacks and the word literally means "cover". The Creamy Taste Of Fudge! Fudge is a treat that everyone loves. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, the taste of a smooth, creamy piece of delicious Fudge appeals to everyone. School Lunches the Frugal Way! It seems that school starts earlier every year. So it's time to start thinking about what to put in those school lunches every morning. Vegetarian Diet Tips: Make Your Vegetarian Diet A Balanced Diet! The world has opened eyes to the harmful side-effects of non-veg food like red meat and is now opening arms to Vegetarian Food. A very common myth found among common man is that vegetarian food doesnt provide you with necessary nutrients but a Vegetarian Diet, in no ways, is deprived of necessary nutrients, only if you have a balanced Vegetarian Diet. Sweet & Sour Pork (Gu Lao Rou) Sweet & Sour Pork is the most well known Chinese food abroad. According to a Cantonese chef, the primitive or the authentic cooking method of the dish is to add Cantonese pickled vegetables. Chocolate Velvet Cheesecake Cheesecake is one of the most popular desserts around today. A simple Google search on "cheesecake" returns over 1. Four Easy Zucchini Bread Recipes Tired of the same old zucchini bread recipe and want to try something new? Here is a standard zucchini bread recipe in addition to three variations your family is sure to love.Zucchini Bread3 eggs 1 cup oil 2 cups sugar 2 cups peeled and grated zucchini 3 tsp. Paella, The Most Famous Spanish Dish First of all, paella is not exactly the dish but the recipient this typical plate is cooked in. We all have seen the paella pan before when visiting Spain or browsing the net for paella recipesThe typical paella a la valenciana was "invented" in a small village called El Perelló close to the city of Valencia. Weight Loss Recipe: Chicken Tikka Long term weight loss isn't about hunger, misery and crash dieting. It's a whole new way of learning to prepare nutritious food that your body needs and enjoys. Chili Recipe - A Red Chili Nightmare! This chili recipe is, indeed, a really nightmare! Taste it only when curiosity becomes unbearable and courage is strong! :o)Ingredients: 1 cup Pinto beans, dried 1 tsp Paprika 5 cups Water 1 Nutmeg, ground, whole 2 tbsp Lard 1 tsp Cumin 1 tbsp Bacon drippings 2 tsp Oregano, dried, pref. Mexican 1 Onion 4 tbsp Sesame seeds 12 oz Pork sausage, country-style 1 cup Almonds, blanched, skins removed 1 lb Beef, coarse grind 12 Red chiles, whole dried 4 Garlic cloves 1 tsp Anise 1 1/2 oz Milk chocolate, small pieces 1/2 tsp Coriander seeds 1 can Tomato paste (6oz ea) 1/2 tsp Fennel seeds 2 tbsp Vinegar 1/2 tsp Cloves, ground 3 tsp Lemon juice 1 Cinnamon stick, ground 1 Soft tortilla, chopped 1 tsp Black pepper, freshly ground Salt Instructions for this special chili recipe:Place the rinsed beans in a bowl, add 2 to 3 cups of water and soak overnight. English Cucumber Sandwiches Have you tried English cucumbers yet? They're a little different from the regular garden cucumbers usually found in grocery stores and at farmer's markets, although they look almost the same. The main difference is English cucumbers have a thinner skin (so they're better for slicing and they don't have to be peeled) and fewer seeds than garden cucumbers. Summer Basil Pasta Salad With the long hot days of summer, you will find that you will need something lighter than a T-bone steak. If you are seeking a fresh and light pasta salad, they you will need to serve this at your next gathering. Try Truffles! Want to serve an elegant, yet easy, dessert? Try truffles. The chocolate kind, that is. Pasta Recipes - The Very Best In Italian Cuisine! These pasta recipes are excellent for dinners or parties.In this article, I'm going to share with you three delicious pasta recipes that you can prepare for any occasion that suits you.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
