A tangy, spicy vegetable relish.
Southwestern Caponata
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
A tangy, spicy, yet nutritious vegetable relish - very popular at the event where I served it.
Author: Anita Edge
Recipe type: Appetizer
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, about 1½ lbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
- ½ cup large green olives, chopped (either with or without pimentos)
- ½ cup diced red onion, about 1 small onion
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp drained capers
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- ⅓ cup diced green chiles
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans (or other nut)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
- Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and rub with olive oil. Place on cookie sheet and roast about 45 minutes or until soft when pricked. Set aside to cool.
- Peel and stem eggplant and give a rough chop. Place eggplant, red peppers, and olives in food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Sautee onion in 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add onion/garlic mixture to eggplant mixture. Add all remaining ingredients and blend well. Adjust salt and chiles to taste. Cover and refrigerate for several hours for flavors to develop.
- Serve with sourdough or french baguette, sliced, or crackers or tortilla chips.
Hi Anita,
I just added some of your recent recipes to my own list, and I have found a couple of omissions that you might not be aware of. I’m trying to be helpful, not critical. I appreciate all your hard work with good chile recipes. In the recipe for “Southwestern Caponata” you mention Onion in instructions # 5 and # 6, but no Onion amount is given in the ingredients list. And in the recipe for “Chipotle Green Chili”, your revision of Rick Johnson’s “Plain Ol’ Fryingpan Green Chile”, both you and Rick mention the Cumin in instructions # 1 and # 3, but you do not give an amount in the list of ingredients for “Chipotle Green Chili”. I am sure it is the same amount as the 2 1/2 teaspoons of Cumin listed in Rick’s ingredients, but it needs to be added to your “Chipotle Green Chili” list of ingredients too.
Thanks,
Ron Curry
Anita,
I want to ask you how much Onion is called for in the recipe for “Southwestern Caponata”? The Onion is mentioned in instructions # 5 and # 6, but the list of ingredients does not mention any Onion.
Thanks,
Ron Curry