Warm Caponata with Toasted Peanuts

Caponata

1. Peel the eggplants, and dice into 1⁄2-inch cubes. Arrange the eggplant cubes on a sheet, salt, and let sit, or “sweat,” for 1 hour.
2. In a medium frying pan, heat the extra-virgin olive oil and the water over medium heat. Add the onion and celery, and sauté over medium heat until the water evaporates. Add the capers, olives (if using), sugar, and tomato sauce*, and simmer for 15 minutes. 
3. Separately, heat a small amount of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the eggplant cubes until cooked through, 7-10 minutes. 
4. Add the celery, onion, and tomato sauce mixture to the eggplant. 
5. Stir in the vinegar. 
6. Serve the caponata in four portions, topping each with a sprinkling of the toasted peanuts. 

An Oldways recipe and photograph adapted from Ristorante La Nicchia in Pantelleria, Italy, created in Partnership with The Peanut Institute, Peanut-Institute.org.

*For tomato sauce, use any prepared or house made version. We used the following: 

Tomato Sauce 

1. Heat the olive oil on medium-low, and then add tomato paste and cook, stirring until the olive oil begins to turn orangey-red.  
2. Add all the onion, garlic, oregano, and salt, and cook for 3-5 minutes.
3. Add the diced tomatoes, drained, and mix, also smashing the tomatoes until the sauce is smoother.