Caponata Parmigiana
As aubergine season is in full swing at the moment, there is nothing better than a simple parmigiana. The zingy caponata sauce cuts through the cheese and adds something slightly different to this recipe. One of my favourites and very easy to make.
Ingredients
1 red onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Large bunch of parsley
2 romano peppers
3 aubergines
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp capers
1 lemon, zest of 1 and juice of half
Splash of red wine vinegar
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp tomato purée
Handful of olives (optional)
2 balls of mozzarella
Parmesan
Method:
(Generously serves 4)
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- In a medium-sized pan, heat the oil and slowly sweat the onions with a little salt too. Once the onions have softened sufficiently, add the garlic cloves, the finely chopped parsley stalks, the chilli flakes and tomato purée and leave to sweat. Next add the finely sliced peppers, capers and olives (if using) and leave to soften.
- Add the tins of tomatoes, rinsing out the tins with water and add this too. Let it gently simmer away for another 10 minutes.
- Whilst the tomato sauce is simmering away, start to prepare the aubergines. Slice the aubergines into rounds and salt them to draw out some of the moisture. Place them on a baking tray and cook them for 10-15 minutes at 180C until starting to soften. You can fry or griddle them but I find that it is more time consuming.
- Now it is time to finish the sauce and start assembling. Add the zest and juice of a lemon, a splash of red wine vinegar and the finely chopped parsley. Mix thoroughly.
- In an oven-proof dish, put a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom, then a layer of aubergines, a layer of sliced mozzarella and grated parmesan and repeat until all of your bits are finished, making sure to leave enough mozzarella and parmesan for the top.
- Bake at 180C for around 30-45 minutes.
