Caponata: Easy as Bunging Veggies in a Saucepan!

Janeyboo

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I made this the other night and it's dead easy. Even better if you make it the day before:

Caponata: Basically veggies in a sweet and sour sauce (trust me!)

You'll need:

One aubergine
Three stalks of celery
10 cherry tomatoes
6 fat, stoned olives
3 large spoonfuls of capers, rinsed of their salt
1 finely chopped red onion
olive oil and a knob of butter
red wine vinegar
mushroom ketchup (optional)
2 teaspoons sugar (brown if poss)


Chop the aubergine into small squares and fry it in the oil and butter. It soaks up a lot but don't worry. Add the halved tomatoes and chopped up celery, and capers, and onions. Add three large spoonfuls of red wine vinegar, the sugar and ketchup. You'll find if you keep making this, you'll add your own extras. I sometimes add a splodge of good quality barbecue sauce as well.

Cook gently for about half an hour. Cool and keep in the fridge. Best served at room temperature with crusty bread. Tastes even better the next day. Keeps for about 4 days in the fridge.

Enjoy!
 

Janeyboo

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Arf Arf. You don't need to use mushroom ketchup if the idea appals you. In fact, if you keep making caponata, the taste changes slightly every time depending on the amounts of ingredients used.

De-stoning olives is a bore but you only need to do a few and if you really can't face it, buy them ready stoned. (You'll recognise them as the olives stuffing themselves with chocolate)

xx
 

Janeyboo

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That sounds pretty good, but I'm going to need clarification of the term "mushroom ketchup." Is that something you buy or something you make? Is it, like, ketchup with mushrooms in it?

You can buy mushroom ketchup but it's not essential. If you make it the day before you need it, store it in the fridge and serve it at room temperature with lots of crusty bread, it's delicious.

As for 'bunging vegetables' - yeah I think it's illegal in Utah.