Caponata

I've gone through many of my cookbooks and marked the recipes that are naturally gluten free. I love the cookbook Ciao Y'all. It combines the traditional dishes of Sicily with Texas, Southern, Cajun and Creole flavors. Many of its recipes need little, to no, adjustment to be gluten free.
 

Summertime brings an eggplantapalooza to my house and the Carrabba/Mandola cookbook comes out for their eggplant relish; which is both refreshing and filling. Caponata blends the sweetness of caramelized onions with the sour of vinegar in this Sicilian version of ratatouille.

Caponata can be served room temperature as an appetizer or main course. For either purpose, it's always better the next day. If you have time, make it a day in advance to give the flavors time to 'marry'.
 

This dish comes together fairly quickly if you gather and chop all the ingredients at the beginning.  Remember to buy a 'male' eggplant so you don't have to salt and rinse to take the bitterness out before cooking.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on high until it sizzles. This only takes a few minutes.

2. Turn the heat down to medium and add the eggplant cubes. Leave the eggplant on one side without stirring. Let it cook for about four minutes.

3. Stir the eggplant for four to six minutes until it becomes very soft.

4. Remove the eggplant from the skillet.

5. Add the onion and celery to the skillet and saute until tender and translucent.

6. Return eggplant to skillet with onion and celery.

7. Add tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, water, tomato paste and salt and pepper to taste.

8. Cook over medium heat for another five to ten minutes.

9. Remove from heat and add the remaining ingredients.

10. Put in a bowl and refrigerate.

The recipe from Ciao Y'all calls for green olives and pine nuts. To cut cost I excluded these from this batch of caponata. I also had to save time by using canned tomatoes.

For serving the caponata, I bought a Schär gluten free baguette. It looks like a baguette. It acts like a baguette. It tastes like french bread and it doesn't come frozen!

Slice the baguette about 1/2 inch thick at a 30 degree angle. This makes a larger oval shape rather than a circle; it is better for dips and relish because it leaves some bread for grabbing the bite. Crush a clove or two of garlic and cover with olive oil in a small bowl. Turn stove to medium high and allow a fry or grill pan to heat while you brush one side of the bread with the garlic flavored oil.

 

As the bread is toasting, brush the second side with the garlic oil.  When the first side is toasted, turn it over and toast the other side. The bread can be toasted in an oven at 375 but I love the marks that a grill pan makes on the bread.  Garnish with fresh basil.

Buon Appetito!