Roast Eggplant Caponata
My mother’s tip for buying eggplants is to choose the lightest one for its size. It will have fewer seeds.
1 large eggplant
Kosher salt
1 Spanish or large red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, optional
2 stalks celery
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup green olives, pitted or filled with pimientos
1 teaspoon capers
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley
Peel the eggplant, cut it in ½-inch thick slices and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let it sit in a colander for an hour to drain. Slice the onion in ½-inch thick slices and thread a toothpick or skewer to the center to hold the rings together. Wash the red pepper and jalapeno. Cut the celery into ½-inch thick dice.
Dry off the eggplant. Brush one side of each slice liberally with olive oil, then place the slices on the grill. Do the same with the onion slices and the peppers. Grill the eggplant until it is nicely colored. Brush the other sides of the eggplant and onions with oil before you turn them. Return the vegetables to the grill until the eggplant is cooked through but not mushy, and the onions are nicely colored and soft. Turn the peppers until they are charred black on all sides.
Let everything cool. Peel the skin off the peppers, wiping the seeds off with paper towels. Remove the toothpicks from the onions. Cut everything into small chunks. Mince the jalapeno.
In a large frying pan, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When it is hot, add the celery and stir for a minute until the celery softens slightly. Add the eggplant, onions, peppers, olives, capers and tomato paste and mix well. Add the sugar and the vinegar. Simmer for a couple of minutes to blend the flavors. Add salt and pepper and more vinegar or sugar as necessary. If the mixture gets too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water or red wine. Remove from the fire, place in a bowl and let sit. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.