Tuesday 12 March 2013

Slacker's Caponata


This extremely simple dish was inspired by my craving for Georgio Locatelli's caponata and burrata which I had a few years ago at Locanda. Locatelli's book, Made in Sicily has a wonderful recipe in it but below is my 20 minute lazy version, nothing like as divine but a zingy and satisfying lunch. I top mine with some sliced good quality buffalo mozzarella since a quick lunch doesn't merit the price of burrata.

Ingredients (serves 1)

Olive oil for cooking
1 aubergine (cut into cubes)
1 red or yellow pepper cut into 8
1/2 sliced red onion
A small bunch of sweet ripe cherry tomatoes, sliced into quarters
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of capers, the mini kind
A shallow tablespoon of sultanas
1 1/2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
A handful of torn basil(I didn't have any to hand)
1/2 a round of buffalo mozzarella
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
Black pepper and salt

Method
Start by frying the aubergine in oil on a med-low heat until soft and not at all powdery - check by tasting. This should take around 20 minutes while you stir it now and again.

In the meantime prepare your other ingredients and put the onion in with the aubergine one it has had around 5 minutes.

Brush the peppers with oil and place under a hot grill, skin side up until the skin is black. Place in a bowl and cover with cling film or seal in a plastic bag while they cool and then peel after a few minutes. You can add them to the pan for the last 5 minutes.

Once the aubergine is done, toss all the ingredients together and season to taste. Leave to marinate for 5-10 minutes then place the mozzarella on top and drizzle with olive oil.