Yesterday I received two beautiful eggplants from a dear friend’s garden.  It will probably be the last fresh eggplants of summer so I thought I’d better make the best of them. When I think of eggplants lately (I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me say this), I think of Italy, especially Sicilia or as you know it: Sicily.  It was Sicily that rekindled my childhood love of eggplants. I guess because I grew up eating things fresh from the garden, I didn’t know eggplants could take on such a horrible bitterness. Later on in life, when I was unable to walk out to the backyard to pick fresh vegetables, I started to hate eggplants because they were always bitter, horribly bitter.  Actually, my whole family hated them so when I cooked eggplants, I had to disguise them in tons of tomato paste or sauce with too much salt.  Lasagna and Eggplant Parmesan are perfect disguises for grocery store eggplants you’ll have in the winter.  I’ve come to realize that eggplants that are not fresh, will just be bitter. You can soak them in salt water, soak them overnight in milk, remove the seeds and peelings, or hang them in the shower (okay, the last one is a joke..hehe). These things will disguise the bitterness, but the best thing to do is have fresh eggplants. And that’s what I have today thanks to my buddy, Diane 🙂

Caponata is similar to a Louisiana or New Orleans eggplant casserole.  I’m not sure, but maybe this comes from the Italian immigrants from the 1800s that relocated in the New Orleans area. The people of Louisiana have a way of absorbing the flavors of various cultures. I know, because I’m one of them, and I love taking a dish and giving it a Louisiana flare.  I discovered this delicious dish, an improved version of my Louisiana eggplant casserole, at a Sicilian barbeque that took place at Hotel La Calette in Cefalu. To read more about our Sicilian adventure here’s the link: http://www.eatwritepacklight.com/sicily/

Caponata is a great dish to leave in the refrigerator for later. It’s kind of like Gumbo in that the longer it sits waiting, the more it picks up the flavors and the more delicious it becomes. So, if you make this dish a day ahead of time, it will taste better. It has such a mix of flavors just like the island it comes from: sweet, salty, sour, and spicy.

First, saute’ onion and peppers in a skillet with olive oil, add tomato, basil, oregano, and salt. Cook until tender. Add chopped tomato. In the meantime, roast the eggplant in the oven and have a glass of wine (optional).  Put in all together in a bowl like this:

Add chopped olives, dates or raisins, pine nuts and capers. Put it all in a baking dish.

Cook for 40 minutes, add panko bread crumbs and a special dressing and cook for another 10 minutes. This is what comes out of the oven:

This is delicious. It goes great over a slice of Italian bread, over scrambled eggs at breakfast, or as a side dish of grilled fish or chicken. Or just by itself.  You just have to try it.