SICILIAN CAPONATA RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Cut the aubergine into large chunks. Peel and finely chop the onion, then peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick and chop the parsley leaves and finely chop the stalks.
  2. Rinse, soak and drain the capers and remove the olive stones. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Toast the almonds, if using, under a hot grill or in an oven until light brown.
  3. Get yourself a large pan, pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil, and place on the heat. Add your aubergine chunks and oregano, season with a little sea salt and toss around so the aubergine is evenly coated by the oil. Cook on a high heat for around 4 or 5 minutes, giving the pan a shake every now and then. (Depending on the size of your pan you may need to cook the aubergine in batches.)
  4. When the aubergines are nice and golden on each side, add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks, and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Feel free to add a little more oil to the pan if you feel it's getting too dry.
  5. Throw in the drained capers and the olives, and drizzle over the herb vinegar. When all the vinegar has evaporated, add the tomatoes and simmer for around 15 minutes or until tender.
  6. Taste before serving and season if you need to with salt, black pepper and a little more vinegar. Drizzle with some good olive oil and serve sprinkled with the chopped parsley leaves and the almonds if you like.

Steps:

• Pour the olive oil into a large heavybased saucepan or casserole, place over a medium heat and add the aubergines. Cook for a good 15-20 mins until they are soft. Scoop the aubergines out of the pan – you should be left with some olive oil. Add the shallots and cook for about 5 mins until they are soft and translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook slowly, so they break down and turn to a soft mush, then add the aubergines back to the pan. Now put in the capers, raisins, celery and vinegar, season well and cover with a lid. Cook over a low heat for 40 mins, until all the vegetables are soft. Stir gently so it doesn’t break up too much; the stew should smell sweet and sour.
• When the caponata is cooked, leave to cool slightly while you make the bruschetta. Heat a griddle pan, drizzle the bread with olive oil and griddle until toasted and lightly charred on both sides, then rub with a garlic clove and season. Serve the warm caponata scattered with the basil leaves and pine nuts, with bruschetta on the side.