Caponata

Ingredients:

1 x Eggplant (Cut into smallish cubes)
2 x Celery Sticks (Chopped)
1 x Brown Onion (Chopped)
1 x Red Capsicum (Chopped)
6 x Tomatoes (finely diced, or even blended)
1 ½ Cups of vegetable stock
50g Capers and 50g Green Olives (you can use kalamata if you prefer them)
¼ Cup of Sultanas; ¼ Cup of Pinenuts
1 Tablespoon Caster sugar
Garlic, Orange Zest, Vegetable Stock, Basil, Parsley, Red Wine Vinegar, EVOO, Salt, Pepper.

This unusual dish is a Sicilian Eggplant Stew. Sicily has a rich history, with influence from many different cultures including French, Islamic, Italian, Greek and Byzantine and you can really see a fantastic fusion in this dish. Serve the dish with some chargrilled bread.

Fry Onions and Celery with some Olive Oil on a medium head, add the eggplant and some extra oil after 2 minutes and cook until the eggplant has sweated out some juice and is wet about 6 minutes.
Add 3 cloves of garlic, tomatoes, capsicums, and stock, cook until the tomatoes break down and form a sauce, about 15 minutes
Add Capers, Olives, Sultanas, Red Wine Vinegar (1/4 of a cup), Orange Zest (1 table spoon), , Sugar, Salt and Pepper. Cook until the sauce thickens, 5-7 minutes.
Stir through pinenuts and herbs.

This dish can be either the main or a fancy side, it is often served with cod, but would go well with most fish, lamb, steak, a BBQ side, rice, roast potatoes or with some bread and dip on the side.