Caponata (Italian Rat) recipe

Last night, to make amends for the previous night’s dinner, I thought I would have another go at pork chops.  A visit to the shops and I had some new pork chops and the ingredients for Italian rat.

This is my version of caponata, which is an Italian version of ratatouille.  The secret is the roasted eggplant – no need to salt the eggplant to withdraw the bitter juices.  Roasting brings a delicious flavour to the eggplant and it makes the caponata really rich and creamy.  It is a great accompaniment to grilled pork.

Pork chops and Italian rat

• 1 medium eggplant, diced in 1cm cubes
• olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 medium capsicum, sliced
• 1 small yellow capsicum, sliced
• 2 medium zucchinis, cut into 1 cm slices
• ½ cup white wine (optional)
• 400gm tin crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup chicken stock (or concentrated stock plus water)

1. Place diced eggplant in oven tray lined with baking paper and drizzle with olive oil.  Place in preheated 250^oC oven and cook until eggplant is browned (around 20-30 minutes).
2. While eggplant is browning, add olive oil (around 1 tablespoon) to a heavy casserole dish and soften the onion on a medium heat (takes around 10 minutes).
3. Add the garlic and sliced capsicum and cook until capsicum starts to soften (around 10 minutes), then add the zucchini.  Cook until zucchini starts to brown.
4. Add wine, tinned tomatoes and chicken stock and cook until it starts to simmer.
5. Meanwhile, remove eggplant from oven and reduce heat to 170^oC.  Add eggplant to the simmering vegetables.  Place lid on casserole dish and put in the oven for around 1 hour.  Stir the caponata every 20 minutes or so.  Serve with grilled or roasted meats.

Notes:

1. You can also add capers and/or black olives (other caponata recipes often have these).
2. For extra flavour, add some diced pancetta to the casserole dish when cooking the onions.
3. Tastes even better the next day (if there is any left) or after freezing.
4. Add leftovers to pasta for a quick and easy sauce.
5. I really like leftover caponata on toast the next day for breakfast.