BON (BENE)-BOUNTIFUL The other day, I took a batch of caponata down to the beach club for a barbecue potluck and a well-traveled neighbor looked at the mess of veggies and asked, “Caponata or ratatouille?” As I answered, she followed up with, “How do you decide which to cook?” “Easy,” I replied, “Whichever the garden gives me.”
Living on the garden’s grace is a skill learned at Mother’s knee, literally. In late summer, my mother and I would crawl along rows of rich, dark earth peering under tough fuzzy leaves for tender squashes and weighing plump, warm tomatoes in the palms of our hands to see if a few more days would make them even heavier and sweeter with juice.
In late summer, we crept through the bottomlands of her garden, Fesco pruners in one hand, giant willow baskets dragged behind with the other. Whatever grew and was ripe, right now, was dropped into the day’s harvest and dinner was decided when the baskets were examined at the end of the tour. By Labor Day, lettuce had gone to seed and berries had dwindled. Melons were becoming scarce and artichokes were just starting a second ripening round, but four veggies were often abundant-tomatoes, squash, peppers and eggplant. If tiny, tender zucchini were more abundant than the strangely exotic purple and orange peppers, our mlange du jour was ratatouille; if peppers were piled high and the zucchini had grown to clown-boot size, a big batch of caponata was in the offing.
Ratatouille, being French, is more herbal and often pungent with garlic. Since bay, thyme and rosemary grow year-round in Malibu and are glorious landscape plants, they’re always available for picking. I’ve found that ratatouille is delicious served as a first course with a baguette and a good, runny cheese like Brie, or as a side dish for grilled meat. I even like to eat it warm with the yolk of a fried egg oozing in the juices as a special breakfast treat. Italian caponata seems to have more flair, but may not be as timeless or as versatile given the assertiveness of its sweet-sour character. There is a Tuscan version more like the French-not so sweet, with lots of herbs and tomato paste-but it is the Sicilian style that Progresso made familiar to most Americans. In southern Italy, the technique of adding sugar and vinegar to a dish is called agro dolce, and to my mind, nothing suggests summer better. If you save just a few cups of the caponata to savor in winter, the sweet aroma rising from a pan might transport you to a warm, September morning like the ones in my mother’s garden. Bon appetite! Buon appetito!
CAPONATA RATATOUILLE
Serves 8 – 10
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
2 medium eggplants, cubed
1/ 2 – 3/4 cup good, extra virgin olive oil
1 to 2 cup(s) chopped peppers – any colors
4 – 6 ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes, chopped (canned, okay)
1 large garlic clove, chopped 5 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup brine-cured black and green olives, pitted/ chopped
4 – 6 small zucchini, chopped
3/4 cup celery, chopped 2 – 3 summer squash, chopped
3 Tbs. capers, chopped 4 – 6 sprigs of thyme, chopped
3 Tbs. toasted pine nuts 1 bay leaf
1/4 cup raisins 1 sprig rosemary
1/3 cup red wine vinegar 1 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 Tbs. sugar, or to taste Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Garnish (optional):
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped Parsley, minced
Flat-leafed parsley, minced Fresh basil, chopped
1. If making ratatouille, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sprinkle the eggplant with sea salt and place in a colander to drain for an hour.
3. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil in a deep, heavy ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven until very hot. Saut the onions until very soft, but do not brown. Add peppers, (celery or squash) and garlic and cook 3 – 4 more minutes until vegetables begin to color. Do not crowd the pan-cook in batches, if necessary.
4. Rinse the eggplant and squeeze dry with kitchen towels. Using another skillet, brown in oil in batches-about 10 -15 minutes each. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
5. Add tomatoes, herbs and reserved eggplant to the pan with vegetables and bring to a simmer. Cook uncovered over moderate heat 10 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken.
6. If making ratatouille, stir in the broth and bake, covered. Check after 20 minutes and stir again, baking for a total of about 40 minutes.
7. If making caponata, stir in the capers, olives, raisins, nuts, sugar and vinegar and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until the vinegar evaporates.
8. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve hot or cold with suggested garnishes. Both recipes are great for canning.