Eggplant Caponata
Ingredients
- 2 slices of bacon
- 1 large or 2 small, eggplants
- 1 medium red onion finely chopped
- 1 lb fresh Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 cup large green olives pitted and quartered
- 3 Tbsp capers drained
- 2 celery stalks or fennel, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp honey
- freshly ground pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500 °F.
- Cut the bacon into ¼ inch slices.
- Cut the eggplant into ½ inch cubes.
- In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-low heat, until it is lightly browned and the fat has been rendered. Remove the bacon from the pan to a small bowl.
- Place the eggplant in a large baking dish and pour the bacon fat over the dish. Stir to coat the eggplant.
- Bake the eggplant in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In the same skillet the bacon was cooked in, add the onion, and additional fat, if needed. Saute the onion for about 10 minutes or until softened.
- Add the tomatoes, olives, and capers. Cover the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add the eggplant and celery, cover the skillet and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cover and add the vinegar and honey. Simmer for several minutes, until most of the moisture has evaporated.
- Remove from the heat and add in the bacon.
- Season to taste with pepper. (if desired add sea salt, but the bacon adds some salt, so be sure to taste before adding more salt).
- Drizzle the dish with olive oil, and serve!
- Enjoy!
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