Yotam Ottolenghi’s Caponata recipe and a ‘Festive Giveaway’

The Monsoon is retreating (having a hail storm outside as I type this) but we are moving into another season of festivities. I am excited to host my first giveaway from CSN stores for the festive season.

CSN stores carries everything fromDining tablesto cookware to shoes and bags .CSN stores has generously offered one lucky reader of My Foodcourt from USA and Canada a Gift certificate worth $60 to use on any of the CSN stores websites.

I would like all my readers to please leave a comment below this post letting me know what you like about this blog and what would you like to see more often on My Foodcourt. Please leave one comment per person along with your E-mail address. All you silent readers, now’s your chance to share your thoughts with me.:).

The Giveaway is restricted to USA and Canada readers and there may be international shipping charges in the case of Canadian addresses.

One lucky winner will be chosen randomly and the winner will be announced on 17th October 2010.

Here are the Giveaway details:

Gift certificate: A one-time-use certificate worth $ 60 at any of the CSN stores

How to enter: Leave a comment  with Email ID below this post letting me know what do you like about this blog and what would you like to see more often on My Foodcourt.

Giveaway closes: 16th October 2010, winner will be chosen on 17th October 2010.

Giveaway Valid for: Readers from USA and Canada (there may be international shipping charges in the case of Canadian addresses.)

A Special Thanks to CSN stores team for generously sponsoring this giveaway

§§§§§§§♥♥♥ ♪♪♪♪♥♥♥§§§§§§§

After the exciting  Giveaway now for an exciting Caponata recipe…..

Over the past few years Food blogging has changed my perspective about different cuisines. Chinese is no longer restricted to Hakka noodles and Fried Rice; Mexican is no longer just Tacos and Salsa; Italian is not just pizza and pasta. Surfing the various blogs each day has made me explore many vegetarian recipes beyond these popular dishes of that particular region.

Alessio  challenged us to make a Sicilian speciality-Caponata for this month’s Velveteer’s Challenge.

‘The 4 Velveteers was started by Aparna, Asha, Alessio and Pam, who are passionate about different cuisines and food in general. Each month, we will attempt a new dish and share our experiences and the recipes we used. If you’re interested in joining the Velveteers, please feel free to drop by our Google group‘I have never made a Caponata before, so was quite intrigued by it.Wikipedia describes Caponata as a Sicilianaubergine dish, a cooked vegetable salad made from chopped fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetened vinegar, and capers in a sweet and sour sauce usually served as an Antipasto.

In my quest for a simple Caponata recipe I came across this recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi. I loved the use of Harissa paste- the ‘Ottolenghi  treatment’ as the recipe says- in the traditional Caponatarecipe. I had some Harissa seasoning which my brother had gifted me some time back. Also the addition of raisins was quite interesting. I did not have capers neither did I have red-wine vinegar. I skipped the capers and substituted the red-wine vinegar with white-wine vinegar. I also substituted the canned tomatoes with fresh blanched tomatoes.

The loved the array of colors that the vegetables brought to the Caponata. I love eggplants in most of its form but here the humble eggplant/ aubergine was transformed into a flavorful salad with just a few ingredients. The fresh celery leant a refreshing flavor to the Caponata and the harissa added the much desired tang. The raisins were a welcome ‘sweet’ addition to the already ‘tart-spicy’ caponata.

I also added some fresh Basil leaves, which for a change are in abundance right now. I served this delicious Caponata on Bite sized- Chilly rusks.

As recommended in the original recipe, it also makes a great sauce for pasta or couscous. It’s also delicious with cheese: try spreading it over rustic bread and topping with mature vegetarian pecorino, much like the English cheese and pickle sandwich.

I could not save the Caponata to be savored the next day but you might want to make an extra batch since it tastes better the next day!

Here’s the recipe:

Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi ‘s Caponata recipe

Yotam Ottolenghi's Caponata recipe and a 'Festive Giveaway'

Print Recipe

Yotam Ottolenghi's Caponata recipe and a 'Festive Giveaway' Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Eggplants Aubergines slender / diced
• 2 - 3 celery tender stalks cut on an angle into slices
• 1 red pepper small diced
• 1 onion diced
• ~ 3 tomatoes small blanched, peeled and chopped
• olives Few green sliced
• 3 tbsp parsley chopped
• ~ 2 tbsp Basil Fresh leaves chopped
• 2 tbsp Harissa Seasoning
• 1 xbd tbsps white wine vinegar
• Handful Raisins of
• xbd tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Lemon juice
• to taste Salt pepper and
• as required Red Chili (optional) flakes
• 2 tbsp Olive oil sunflower oil +2 tbsp

Servings:

Instructions

1. Heat both oils in a heavy-bottom pan or a non stick pan.
2. Add the diced aubergines and fry for 5-6 minutes till golden brown, stirring occasionally.
3. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the aubergine to a colander and sprinkle with a bit of salt.
4. After a few minutes, transfer to soak on a paper towel.
5. Add the celery to the hot oil, fry for three minutes, add the pepper and cook for two minutes. Transfer to the colander, then to a paper towel.
6. Sautxe9 the onion and harissa seasoning in the oil (add a little more to the pan, if needed) for seven minutes, until soft and golden.
7. Drain off any excess oil from the pan, add the tomatoes and vinegar, stir and bring to a simmer. Add the fried vegetables, olives and sugar, and season.
8. If the mix is too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Remove the pan from the heat taste and adjust the seasoning.
10. Add the raisins.
11. Leave to come to room temperature, add the lemon juice and parsley,basil leaves and Red chilli flakes(if using)

Recipe Notes

Serve with sliced baguettesor garlic bread or some spicy rusks as I did.

Thanks Alessio for introducing me to the delicious Sicilian favorite, I am going to try several other versions in several different ways from now on.

Do Check out the various versions of the Caponata on the other Velveteer’s blogs:

Aparna’s Eggplant and Fig Caponata

Asha’s Sicilian Caponata over Zatared lavash

Sarah’s Caponata- A Sicilian Relish

Veena’s Sicilian Caponata

Ken’s Caponata jam