Baked Herbed Eggplant With Capers And Olives Recipes

MELANZANE RIPIENE CON CAPPERI E OLIVE (STUFFED EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND OLIVES)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange eggplant halves cut-side up in a baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tender, about 20 minutes. Cool until easily handled, 5 to 10 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Scoop pulp out of the eggplants using a spoon, leaving skins intact. Chop pulp coarsely and transfer to a bowl. Mix in eggs, Parmesan cheese, capers, and olives. Add 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stuff eggplant skins with mixture.
• Spread half of the remaining tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Arrange stuffed eggplants on top. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over each eggplant.
• Bake in the preheated oven until topping is golden brown and tomato sauce is bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes.

ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH GARLIC AND HERBS

Steps:

• Put the eggplant pieces in a large colander and sprinkle all over with the 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Set in the sink to drain for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Put a baking sheet in the oven to heat for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic, and push to the side of the cutting board. Chop the parsley, then draw the shallots and garlic in with the herbs and chop them together, until finely chopped. Stir the aromatics and walnut oil together in a serving bowl.
• Toss the purged eggplant with the olive oil and pepper. Carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and brush or drizzle with olive oil. Spread the eggplant out on the pan and return to the oven. Roast until the eggplant is tender yet firm and rich brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss with garlic and herbs. Serve right away or at room temperature.

EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• A large, nonstick skillet with a cover works best for this recipe.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add eggplant and cook until it begins to get soft. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Heat remaining tablespoon of olive oil and saute onion and garlic until onion is golden.
• Add celery, tomato sauce, and a few tablespoons of water. Cover and let steam for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if necessary.
• Return eggplant to pan, add capers, and olives.
• Heat the vinegar with the sugar and add to eggplant mixture.
• Salt and pepper to taste, and simmer gently for another 10-15 minutes, being careful not to let it burn.
• Serve hot or or cold, with slices of lemon.

SHREDDED CABBAGE WITH CAPERS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• 1 Trim off the outer leaves of the cabbage. With a large heavy chef's knife, cut the cabbage into quarters. Cut out the core. Cut the quarters crosswise into narrow strips. 2 In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cabbage, water, vinegar, and a small amount of salt. Stir well. 3 Cover the pot and turn the heat to low. Cook until the cabbage is almost tender, about 15 minutes. 4 Stir in the olives and capers. Cook until the cabbage is very tender, about 5 minutes more. If there is a lot of liquid left in the pan, uncover and cook until it evaporates. Serve hot. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

PASTA WITH EGGPLANT, CAPERS, AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Toss eggplant with salt in a colander set in a large bowl, then let drain, tossing occasionally, 1 hour.
• While eggplant drains, rinse capers in a sieve and transfer to a small bowl. Cover capers with water by 2 inches and soak 30 minutes. Drain, then repeat soaking. Drain and rinse capers, then squeeze dry and coarsely chop.
• Roast bell pepper on rack of a gas burner over moderately high heat, turning with tongs, until skin is blackened, about 5 minutes. (Or broil pepper on a broiler pan about 5 inches from heat, turning occasionally, about 15 minutes.) Transfer to a bowl, then cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let pepper steam 10 minutes.
• When cool enough to handle, peel pepper and discard seeds, stem, and ribs. Pat pepper dry and purée in a blender until smooth.
• Rinse eggplant and pat dry thoroughly. Heat vegetable oil in a 4-quart pot over high heat until it registers 375°F on thermometer. Fry one third of eggplant, stirring gently, until just golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Fry remaining eggplant in 2 batches, returning oil to 375°F between batches.
• Pulse together olives, basil, mint, parsley, marjoram, and 2 garlic cloves in a food processor until finely chopped.
• Finely chop remaining garlic clove and cook in olive oil along with anchovy in a 5-quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until anchovy dissolves and garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase heat to moderate and stir in pepper purée, then cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in olive mixture, capers, and wine and cook, stirring, until wine is evaporated, about 1 minute. Stir in eggplant (sauce will be very thick) and remove from heat. Keep warm, covered.
• Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and stir into sauce. Season with salt.
• *Available at specialty foods shops and chefshop.com.

EGGPLANT STUFFED WITH ANCHOVIES, CAPERS, AND OLIVES

Steps:

• 1 Trim off the tops of the eggplants. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. With a small sharp knife and a spoon, scoop out the eggplant pulp, leaving a shell about 1/2 inch thick. Coarsely chop the pulp and place it in a colander. Sprinkle generously with salt and set over a plate to drain. Sprinkle the insides of the eggplant shells with salt and place them upside down on paper towels. Let drain for 30 minutes. 2 Rinse off the salt with cool water and dry the eggplant with paper towels. Squeeze the pulp to extract the water. 3 Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until a small piece of eggplant sizzles when added to the pan. Add the eggplant pulp and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, anchovies, olives, capers, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes more. 4 Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil a baking pan just large enough to hold the eggplant shells in a single layer. 5 Fill the shells with the eggplant mixture. Place them in the pan. Toss the bread crumbs with the remaining oil and sprinkle them over the shells. Bake 45 minutes or until the shells are tender when pierced. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

PAN-FRIED EGGPLANT WITH ONION, CAPER AND HERB SAUCE

Steps:

• Peel eggplants and slice into 3/4 inch slices. Sprinkle both sides with salt, and let sit about 20 minutes to draw out the water. Blot both sides with paper towel.
• Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook eggplant about 4-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through and browned. Remove eggplant to serving dish.
• While eggplant is cooking, combine capers, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, parsley, basil and 1 tbsp olive oil. For a finely chopped sauce, you can pulse this mixture in a food processor, otherwise can leave as is (if not using capers, leave as is).
• Add last tbsp olive oil to pan, heat about 30 seconds, then add red onion and saute 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute another minute. Add caper mixture and heat through for about a minute.
• Pour sauce over eggplant and serve immediately.

CHARRED EGGPLANT WITH BURRATA AND FRIED CAPERS

Steps:

• In a small saucepan or skillet, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium-high until it shimmers, about 1 minute. Meanwhile, dry the capers very well by wrapping them in paper towels or a clean dish towel and wringing out the moisture. (If there is too much moisture, the oil will sputter aggressively.) Line a plate or tray with paper towels or a clean dish towel.
• When the oil is ready, carefully drop the capers in and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. (Watch closely, as smaller capers will cook more quickly.) Remove the capers from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on the lined plate. They will crisp up further as they cool.
• Transfer the caper-infused oil to a large heatproof bowl and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
• Lay the disks of eggplant on a large cutting board or sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, flip over and drizzle the other side. Heat a large (12-inch) grill pan or cast-iron skillet on medium-high. (See Tip for grilling instructions.) When hot, working in batches, add the eggplant disks in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes, pressing the eggplant into the pan to encourage browning. Flip, reduce heat to medium and cook on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes, until completely tender. (The eggplant continues to soften as it soaks up the marinade in the next step, so don't be tempted to overcook.) Remove the eggplant from the pan and place them back on the cutting board or plate. Continue cooking the remaining eggplant.
• Meanwhile, to the bowl with the cooled caper-infused oil, add the herbs, garlic, red-pepper flakes, lemon zest and juice, ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and a few pinches of black pepper. Toss to combine and taste, making sure it has enough salt. Add the warm eggplant slices to the oil and gently toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 5 minutes (see Tip).
• Serve this on one large platter or as four separate servings. Place the burrata (for single servings, halve each ball of burrata) on the plate along with the eggplant and top with any remaining marinade and the fried capers, and scatter with fresh herbs.

OLIVE OIL ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH LEMON

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.
• Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters lengthwise. Cut each of those in half to make two shorter quarters. Place the eggplant onto the baking sheet with the skin side down. Brush each piece with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Roast in the preheated oven until softened and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve hot.

BAKED HERBED EGGPLANT WITH CAPERS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Soak capers in cold water for 1 hour before using, changing water 2 or 3 times. Drain, rinse and squeeze dry. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack placed in upper third of oven. Make a series of deep crosshatches in the cut sides of eggplants, but don't cut through the skin. Coat cut surfaces liberally with extra-virgin olive oil. In large saute pan or skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over high heat until shimmering. Fry eggplants, cut side down, until golden on the bottom, 1 or 2 minutes. Turn them over and fry for about 2 minutes on the skin side. They will look slightly softened. Using a slotted metal spatula, transfer to a baking sheet, cut sides up, and let cool. In a medium bowl, combine olives, capers, mint, basil and garlic, and mash lightly with a fork to make a coarse paste. Stir in salt and pepper. Add grated cheese and mix well. Press mixture into cuts in each eggplant and drizzle with a little more oil. Bake eggplants about 25 minutes or until eggplant is soft and topping is gilded here and there. Be careful not to burn them. The tops should be bubbling and look moist and tempting. The eggplants can be eaten hot or at room temperature. Note: Pantelleria is a tiny island off Sicily and is famous for its capers. You also can use bottled vinegar-packed capers, but be sure to rinse them well many times to get rid of the vinegar and let caper taste come out.