Pepper Caponata Recipes

PEPPER CAPONATA

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the top third of the oven and preheat the broiler.
• Put the red peppers on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little oil and rub to coat the peppers lightly; season with salt and black pepper. Broil skin-side up until blackened. Transfer to a bowl, cover and let steam until cool, at least 15 minutes. Discard the skins and cut into chunks.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat; add the peppers, raisins, capers and vinegar and toss to combine. Season with salt and black pepper. Toss with the arugula and serve.

ROASTED EGGPLANT CAPONATA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
• Place the whole eggplant on the pan, prick with a fork in several places, and rub with olive oil. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft when pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool. Halve the eggplant, peel, and discard the skin. Place the eggplant, peppers, and olives in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour into a mixing bowl.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onion is lightly browned. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, and add to the eggplant mixture. Add the parsley, pine nuts, lemon juice, capers, tomato paste, vinegar, salt, and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop. Taste for seasonings and serve at room temperature with toasted pita triangles.

CAPONATA

Steps:

• Briskly sauté the onions and celery in the olive oil until the onions are brown around the edges.
• Meanwhile, mince the garlic, anchovies, salt and pepper together.
• Add to the onions, turn the heat way down and let it stew while dicing the bell pepper and eggplant.
• Add the diced pepper and eggplant.
• Cook over moderate heat until the eggplant is completely cooked, almost falling apart.
• (Eggplant is insatiable when it comes to oil. Don't feed it. If the eggplant sticks too much, toss in a spoonful of water to loosen it.) Add the tomatoes and simmer, partially covered, until the tomatoes are cooked — 10 to 15 minutes.
• Stir in the vinegar, capers, and olives.
• Simmer uncovered for a few minutes (until it's no longer watery) then fine-tune the seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Put in a bowl and let it cool uncovered.
• When it's at room temperature, serve or refrigerate.

EGGPLANT CAPONATA (SICILIAN VERSION)

Steps:

• Toss eggplant with salt and place in a colander set over a bowl. Let sit, about 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add celery; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until onion is soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl using a slotted spoon.
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in the skillet. Add eggplant and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in celery mixture, tomatoes, olives, capers, tomato paste, and oregano. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until caponata is thickened, about 15 minutes.
• Season caponata with vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with parsley.

EASY CAPONATA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add celery and cook uncovered until softened, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander and immediately immerse in ice water for several minutes to stop the cooking process. Drain.
• Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat; add onion and celery and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add eggplant, red bell peppers, and zucchini and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, vinegar, and sugar. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Add olives, raisins, pine nuts, and capers. Season with salt and pepper and cook until flavors are well combined, about 5 minutes.
• Remove skillet from heat; stir in chopped basil. Cool and serve at room temperature.

CAPONATA

Steps:

• Roast the eggplant, allow to cool and chop coarsely.
• 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.
• Add the tomatoes to the pan with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring and scraping 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. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. If possible, cover and chill overnight. Serve at room temperature.

SEARED STEAK WITH CELERY & PEPPER CAPONATA

Steps:

• For the caponata, spray a large, wide non-stick pan with 3 sprays of oil, and add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook for 5 mins, stirring halfway through to brown them.
• Tip in the tomatoes and a can of water, then stir in all the other caponata ingredients. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for 30 mins.
• Heat a griddle or small non-stick frying pan. Generously grind black pepper over the steak and sear on both sides, about 6 mins in total, until cooked to your liking. Allow to rest while you wilt the spinach in a covered pan on a low heat.
• Spoon the caponata onto 2 serving plates, top with the spinach, then slice the beef and arrange on top.