[Sca-cooks] Better than baba ganoush, but is it period?
Daniel Myers
edouard at medievalcookery.com
Fri Feb 27 10:03:37 PST 2004
On Feb 27, 2004, at 11:25 AM, Christiane wrote:
> My husband and I went out last night to our favorite little Turkish
> restaurant. The owners also operate a deli up the road where I get my
> rosewater for cosmetics and cooking, my tahini, and great fresh bread
> and fresh feta and other goodies. But I digress. I picked out as an
> appetizer this cold dish comprising roasted eggplant, chopped coarsely
> and mixed with parley, green pepper, bits of carrot, lemon juice,
> vinegar, garlic, and olive oil. It was heaven spread on the hot bread
> with bits of onion, sesame, and poppyseed that was brought to our
> table. And it was not bitter at all, which is what I find most
> eggplant dishes to be
>
> I didn't catch the name of the dish, but it definitely seems more of a
> relation to tapenade. Turkish tapenade, if you will. I have vowed to
> track down a recipe. Anyone have a recipe that's similar, but period?
> Are tapenades period?
Sounds sort of like caponata. I love the stuff, but I have no idea if
it's period or not. It vaguely resembles some period recipes that
preserve (at least for a short time) vegetables in oil and vinegar.
Below are the recipes I have for it - though I can't tell you offhand
which one I tried, or if it was a combination of them all.
- Doc
-=-=-
Caponata
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into small cubes
1/2 medium onion
1 stalk celery, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup+ olive oil
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 handful green olives, rinsed and cut in half
3 or 4 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar
If you're not sure about the type of eggplant you're using then salt it,
let it sit, and then rinse it - removes some of the bitterness. Saute
the onions, celery and garlic with the olive oil in a medium sauce pan
until the onions are soft and translucent - *do not brown them*. Spoon
them out and set aside, leaving the remaining oil behind. Saute the
eggplant until "golden", adding extra olive oil as the eggplant soaks it
up and starts to look dry. Put the onions et al. back into the pan and
add remaining ingredients. Simmer covered for about 20 minutes,
stirring occasionally, until eggplant is nice and soft.
You're supposed to add capers as well - and I would have - but the local
grocery didn't have any.
-------
Caponata (Eggplant and Caper Salad)
Reflecting Sicily's Arab heritage, this classic recipe (but without the
tomatoes, a New World discovery) probably dates from the ninth century,
when it is believed that the eggplant (aubergine) was introduced in
Sicily by the Saracens. Culinary historians debate whether eggplants
were grown in Sicily earlier, perhaps in Roman times, but hardly
anybody disagrees that caponata is delicious. It should be served
chilled as an antipasto (appetizer). There are popular variations of
this recipe; some versions call for the addition of artichokes, sweet
peppers or more sugar.
Ingredients: 8 medium size aubergines (eggplants), 400 grams of peeled
mature tomatoes, 2 medium size sweet white or yellow onions, the heart
of a large celery, 200 grams of pitted large cured firm green olives,
200 grams of capers (if salted soak in water and drain to remove salt),
extra virgin olive oil, white vinegar, sugar, salt.
Preparation: Cut the eggplants into chunks about one inch or two
centimetres square. (You may prefer slightly larger or smaller pieces.)
Do not peel. Cook these by steaming covered in a large pot until
completely cooked but firm. (Don't boil them.) Drain well and set
aside. Chop the tomatoes into small pieces or a thick pulp, without
discarding the juice or seeds. Chop the onions into medium pieces or
thin slices. Cut the celery stalks into pieces about one inch long.
Discard leaves. Halve the olives. In a large pan, sauté the onions and
celery pieces in olive oil. The celery should be lightly cooked, firm
but not raw. Add the tomato pulp and bring the mixture to a boil, then
simmer for a few minutes until the sauce changes color to a lighter
red. At this point, simmer over low heat for another 4-6 minutes. Add
the eggplants, olives and capers to the mixture. Also add a few
tablespoons each of olive oil, vinegar and sugar. Stir gently and allow
to simmer covered (steaming) for about five minutes over medium-low
heat until mixture thickens but doesn't burn. Remove from heat and
allow to cool. Salt to taste. Then chill for at least three hours
before serving.
-------
* Exported from MasterCook *
Caponata
Recipe By : The Green Thumb Preserving Guide
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :3:00
Categories : Canning, Preserves, Etc.
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggplants -- unpeeled
2 large Spanish onions -- peeled
1 clove garlic -- crushed
3/4 cup celery -- finely diced
2 cups tomato puree or sauce
1/3 cup pitted green olives -- coarsely chopped
1/3 cup pitted black olives -- coarsely chopped
1/4 cup capers -- drained
1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme -- dried
3 tablespoons parsley -- minced
Heat 5 tablespoons olive oil in stockpot. Add eggplant that has been
cut
into 1 inch cubes. Stir fry 10-12 minutes until golden and touched
with
brown. Add remaining oil, onions, garlic, and celery and stir fry 10
minutes
longer until golden. Mix in all remaining ingredients, cover, reduce
heat to
moderately low and simmer 1 hour, stirring about every 10 minutes.
Uncover
and cook until very thick, about the consistency of chutney. Prepare
3 pint
sized jars. Ladle caponata into jars leaving 1 inch headspace. Wipe
rims
with a damp cloth. Seal with lids. Pressure cooker can pints at 10
pounds
pressure for 30 minutes.
-------
CAPONATA EGGPLANT
This is an excellent Italian appetizer. It is exceptionally well
flavored, makes a very nice presentation of a bed of lettuce, and is
even quite low in calories. It is a traditional antipasto, or you can
serve Caponata with a good crusty Italian bread and a bottle of wine
and it makes a very nice light luncheon dish.
To do the Caponata, first prepare the eggplant:
Take one eggplant, peeling is optional. Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch
dice, salt well, put in a colander, and drain for a half hour or so.
Next, take a large heavy frying pan or saute pan, add:
* 1/4 cup olive oil, heat well and add:
* small onion, chopped
* medium stick of celery, no leaves, chopped
Saute until limp, remove. Add:
* eggplant, saute until well greyed. Add:
* the sauted onion and celery
* 1 pound canned tomatoes, drained and mashed
* 6-8 anchovies packed on olive oil, mashed
* 2 Tbl sugar, or to taste
* 1/4 cup good wine vinegar, red or white
* 3 or 4 Tbl capers
-------
CAPONATA
This makes a delicious appetizer when served with lightly toasted bread
(from the Victory Garden Cookbook, Alfred Knopf 1982).
1 medium eggplant
Salt
3/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS olive oil
2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/2 cup pitted, halved green olives
1/4 cup capers, rinsed and drained
1 TBS pine nuts
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 TBS sugar
Freshly ground pepper
Peel and cube the eggplant. Place the cubes in a colander and salt
thoroughly. Let drain for one hour. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with
paper towels. Heat half the oil in a large skillet over high heat.
Saute half the eggplant until golden brown (5-8 minutes). Remove to a
strainer and drain. Add the remaining oil, saute the rest of the
eggplant, and drain. Wipe the pan clean, add the additional 2 TBS oil
and saute the onions and celery just until tender. Add the tomatoes,
cover the pan and cook 4-5 minutes. Uncover the pan and cook additional
5 minutes. Add the sauteed eggplant, olives, capers and pine nuts.
Combine the vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Pour into
the eggplant mixture and simmer, covered 5-10 minutes. Season to taste
and cool. Makes 7-8 cups.
-------
CAPONATA (Aubergine Salad — Italy)
1 lb. eggplant, cut into cubes
2 T. olive oil
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, sliced
8 oz. tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 T. capers
2 T. pine nuts
1 T. sugar
1/2 C. red wine vinegar
1/4 C. large green olives
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Sprinkle cubes of eggplant with salt and leave them in a colander to
drain for 1 hour. Dry them thoroughly on paper towels. Hat plenty of
olive oil in a pan and fry the eggplant until they are brown. Drain on
paper towels. Fry celery in the same oil as the eggplant and, when
brown, remove from the pan. Add onion and cook until soft. Add tomatoes
and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, return the
eggplant and celery to the pan, and simmer another 5 minutes. You may
can this or serve it cold after making.
To can, pour into glass jars, seal and boil for 20 minutes. It will
keep for months.
--------
Caponata (Sweet and Sour Aubergine (Eggplant) Stew)
Slightly adapted from a recipe posted in rec.food.cooking by Sheldon,
found at Epicurious, originally from the July 1991 issue of Gourmet
magazine. I've made this quite a few times now, and it's becoming one
of my favourite recipes. There's more oil in this than in most of my
recipes, but it makes it taste nice. There's a very similar recipe for
Caponata in Elizabeth David's Italian Food, taken from Edmond
Richardin's L'Art du Bien Manger (1913), so I suppose this is probably
quite authentic. That version is a Sicilian dish.
Serves 4-6
* 3 Tbsp good olive oil
* 600g (1 1/4 lb, 3 1/2 cups) diced (unpeeled) aubergine (eggplant)
* 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
* 2 small sticks celery, finely chopped
* 15-20 pitted green olives, chopped
* 3 Tbsp chopped drained bottled capers
* 4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) red wine vinegar
* 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar, or to taste
* 3 Tbsp golden raisins
* 3 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted lightly (optional, but nice)
* 3/4 x 400g can (1 cup) good chopped plum tomatoes
* 4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)
1. Cook the aubergine in 2 Tbsp of the olive oil over moderately high
heat. The best way I've found to do this is to heat 1 Tbsp oil in a
heavy frying pan, add the aubergine and mix well, then drizzle over
another 1 Tbsp oil and mix again. This helps stop the cubes on the
bottom from absorbing all the oil. Cook, stirring often, until done - I
like my aubergine very soft, so I give it 15-20 minutes. When done,
transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to the frying pan, tip in the onion and
celery, and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes over moderate heat or
until the onion is fairly soft but not coloured.
3. Add the olives, capers, vinegar, sugar, raisins, pine nuts (if
using), and tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for
5-10 minutes, or until it is cooked through and the celery is tender.
Cook it covered if using fresh tomatoes, and uncovered if using canned,
since they have more juice.
4. Add the tomato mixture to the bowl. Add the parsley and mix well.
Cool and chill overnight, then season with salt and black pepper.
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