Sicilian dish featuring the best of summer. Always best made the day before and can be eaten warm or room temperature is preferable. The options to use are endless, stirred through pasta, on a bruschetta, as a starter with bread, a side dish with fish or just on it's own
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Ingredients
700gauberginecut into 2cm dice
vegetable oil for frying
2stickcelerycut into 2cm dice
3tbspolive oil
1onionfinely sliced
250gtinned plum tomatoesroughly chopped
1tspchilli flakes
60gcapers
60ggreen olivesquartered
1tbspsugar
120mlpassata
90mlwhite wine vinegar
40gtoasted almond flakes (or pine nuts)
mint leaves to garnish
Instructions
Lightly salt the aubergine cubes and leave in a colander in the sink for 30 minutes then pat dry with kitchen paper.
In a large pan heat 2cm of vegetable oil to 190C or when the aubergine sizzles in the oil. Fry in batches until golden and remove to drain on kitchen paper and lightly season each batch with salt.
Next fry the celery in the same oil until golden. Drain on kitchen paper. Safely discard the oil.
Heat the olive oil in a clean pan and add the onion with a generous pinch of salt and sauté gently for about 10 minutes until soft. Pour in the tomatoes along with chilli flakes and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
Stir in the capers, olives, sugar, passata and vinegar, bring to the boil, add the fried vegetables. Turn the heat to the lowest setting, cover with a lid and simmer for and hour checking every so often that it isn't drying out.
Serve with warm or at room temperature sprinkled with nuts and mint.