Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta

Recipe updated in September 2023.  Often on a long drive to make the time pass a little faster, we used to play a game. One where we each named the vegetables served at the dinner tables of our youth. Invariably when it was my turn, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, mushrooms and green beans were the only twelve things on my list.  And most, if not many of them, were the canned version only. There was some humor in this rather short, limited list as it now represents only a small portion of the vegetables I now eat and cook with.

It was my Italian best friend's family who nurtured my appreciation for eggplant. And without a doubt her eggplant parmesan remains the best I have ever tasted.  But other than eating eggplant cooked in this way, it was not a vegetable I knew existed in any other recipe until I was at a holiday open house one year, very long ago.  Quite by accident I tasted something called caponata. Not only had I not ever heard that word before, I had no idea what it was.  But at long last, I discovered that caponata was a dish that had eggplant as one of its main ingredients.  The deliciousness of eggplant caponata bruschetta is experienced in the first bite.  And eggplant went from being a "nice to have" to a 'must have' on my list of vegetables to be consumed.

It took me a while to get a copy of the caponata recipe from the person who had made it for the party, but persistence is one of my virtues or Achilles' heels, it's all a matter of perspective.  The recipe came from her aunt who had lived somewhere on the east coast.  When she had written the recipe out she titled it "Hennrietta's Caponata".  So for years I had a little piece of paper with the recipe on it.  Since I usually don't memorize recipes, I was beside myself one weekend when I looked for the recipe and couldn't find it.  Again I had to ask the same person to get me a copy of the recipe. No let me rephrase this, I had to relentlessly ask the same person to get me another copy of the recipe.  This time it was written out on a slightly larger piece of paper.  I figured out a way not to lose this recipe as I could not bear to ask for it a third time.

The recipe begins with preparing the eggplant, green peppers, onions and garlic.  I like using Italian eggplant in this recipe as its a little firmer and less seedy. However, you can use regular eggplant but you will just have to scoop out and discard the seedy parts.

Eggplant is a beautiful aubergine on the outside and when you cut it, it is a beautiful white on the inside.  Before getting the olive oil hot, make sure you prepare all of the vegetables: the eggplant, green peppers, onions, and garlic.  Once the oil is hot, you add all of your chopped vegetables, turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for approximately 10 minutes.  The vegetables will begin to soften slightly in this first phase of the cooking process.

Yes, this is another recipe with olives, this time the Spanish olives stuffed with pimentos. Measure out the olives before you cut them.  You can either coarsely chop or slice them.

The original version of the recipe called for dried oregano.  When I went to make the recipe I could not find my jar of dried oregano, even after tearing apart the cabinets thinking it might be hidden.  I did not want to drive to the store, so I went out to the herb garden to see if there was some fresh oregano still growing under the light covering of snow.  And yes, there were clusters of green leaves still growing. Guess it was my lucky day.

I know I shared that if a recipe calls for fresh herbs, dried herbs don't live up.  However, the inverse is not always true. The fresh oregano is definitely better than the dried oregano in this caponata.  The standard fresh versus dried conversion is for every one teaspoon of dried you use three teaspoons of fresh.
And oh by the way, I would not be surprised if within the next few months my cupboard has several bottles of dried oregano.  It will be like the pecans, when I go to the grocery store I will think 'do I have any dried oregano?' and then just throw a bottle in the basket.

You add the tomato paste, water, red wine vinegar, olives, sugar, salt and pepper all at once.  Continue to cook on low heat for approximately 15 minutes.  If you want the savory and sweet version of the caponata, you add a half cup of golden raisins in the last 5 minutes. Remove from heat, allow to cool to room temperature.

I like to cut the French baguette on the diagonal and then grill on the stove.  There is something about the grill marks that gives the dish a rustic look and feel to it.  Caponata is not a fancy food.  But not to worry, the bread will still taste delicious if you toast it in the oven.

Recipe
Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta (an adaptation of Hennrietta's Caponata)
Updated September 2023

Ingredients
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 medium or 2 small Italian eggplants for a total weight of 1 pound (472g), should yield 4 cups of peeled and diced eggplant
1 medium yellow onion chopped or 2/3 cup (88g) chopped yellow onion
1/3 cup (48g) chopped sweet green peppers
1 jar (4.5 ounces/127g) of sliced mushrooms, drained
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 six ounce (170g) can of tomato paste
1/2 cup (75g) Spanish olives (the green pimento stuffed ones), first measured and then halved
1/2 cup water (add more as needed)
2 Tablespoons red or balsamic wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly chopped oregano (or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup (72g) golden raisins (my personal favorite addition, but they are optional)

French baguette, sliced on the diagonal, lightly toasted or grilled

Burrata or Whipped Ricotta

Directions
1.  Heat olive oil in large skillet (one that has a lid).  Add eggplant, onion, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic.  Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, stirring at least once.
2. Stir in tomato paste, olives, water, vinegar, sugar, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring several times and checking for consistency.

 Note: If the mixture gets too thick, add in small amounts of water. The consistency of the caponata should be chutney like.
3.  If adding the raisins, add them in the last 5 minutes.
4.  Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.
5. Transfer to a bowl placed on a platter.  Surround the platter with the bread.  Serve caponata at room temperature.
6. Optional:  Serve with burrata cheese or whipped ricotta to kick it up a notch.

Notes: (1) Most of the updates in the recipe include small and weight specified changes to the ingredients. Additionally, I originally recommended the Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta be served with burrata. Now I would also highly recommend it be served with Whipped Ricotta as option. (2) I prefer the caponata warm at room temperature. So, if you make it ahead, bring to room temperature before serving.

Two years ago we celebrated the 21st birthday of my best friend's daughter in New Orleans.  On our first day there we had lunch at A Mano, one of the city's Italian restaurants.  We ordered Caponata Bruschetta as a first course to share.  Their version of the recipe had golden raisins in it and was topped with burrata cheese.  When I tasted this sweet and savory caponata topped with the burrata cheese, I like everyone at the table, suddenly wanted the entire appetizer for themselves.  We had to place a second order.
If you have never had burrata cheese you should absolutely, definitely, add it to the list of cheeses you eat. Really, seriously, this cheese is that good. The name burrata means 'buttered' in Italian.  And what is not to like about butter?  It is actually a fresh Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream.  The outer shell is solid mozzarella but when you slice it open the thick, rich cream oozes out.  Burrata and mozzarella are two very different cheeses. Once you taste burrata you will immediately know the difference.

So if you can find burrata in the grocery store you must buy it.  The addition of this cheese when serving will completely change your experience eating the Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta.  Trust me, the Eggplant Caponata Bruschetta is wonderful all on its own, but with the addition of the burrata, well, let me just say that your palate and appreciation for eggplant will never be the same again.  And if eggplant wasn't on your vegetable list growing up or on your current list, what are you waiting for?