Grilled Vegetable Caponata Recipes

Steps:

• Light the grill: Place a chimney starter on the grate of a charcoal grill. Add newspaper in the bottom, then fill the top with charcoal. Light the newspaper; the fire will light the charcoal. When the charcoal is mature with ashed-over gray embers (about 30-45 minutes later), pour the charcoal from the chimney into the bottom of the grill. Set the grill rack aside-you won't need it for this recipe.
• Roast the vegetables and make the vinaigrette: Place the eggplant, leeks, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic scapes directly onto the coals in an even layer. Stand the bunch of spring onions up so the bulbs are in the coals and the stalks are leaning against the side of the grill (this will create a natural handle for easy removal). Cook 10-15 minutes, turning the vegetables once to ensure they char evenly. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: In a mortar, combine the capers, anchovies, shallots, a big pinch of salt, and pepper. Using the pestle, crush and grind the mixture to break it down to a chunky mash. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in the vinegar and olive oil to saturate and combine. Season with lots of black pepper. Set aside.
• Finish roasting the vegetables: The vegetables are done when they're charred and soft. The tomatoes will be done first, followed by the leeks, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and spring onions. Remove the tomatoes and add them directly into the vinaigrette; crush them with the back of a spoon to release juices. Chop the onions into fourths, discarding the charred stalks, and add to bowl. Chop the eggplant into chunks, add to bowl, and stir to combine; the eggplant will start to absorb the oil. Add the chopped celery and leaves; then chiffonade all the herbs, add them to the bowl, and stir thoroughly. Chop the zucchini and add to the bowl. Chop the peppers, discarding the seeds but keeping the charred skin, and add to the bowl. Stir while the vegetables are still hot so they will absorb all of the vinaigrette. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
• Assemble the caponata: Cut the bread into big chunks and place on the coals to toast for a few minutes until lightly charred. Cut the mozzarella into rustic pieces (or tear by hand) and place on a serving platter. Arrange the caponata next to the mozzarella, hand-tear the toasted bread, and add it to the platter. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Steps:

• Cut the eggplant into a small dice. Place in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon salt. After 30 minutes, rinse, drain and spread the eggplant on several thicknesses of paper towel; roll it up and squeeze out excess moisture.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add the eggplant, fennel, red pepper, onion and garlic. Sauté about 15 minutes, until very tender. In a bowl, whisk the tomato paste and anchovy paste with the wine; stir mixture into vegetables in skillet. Fold in the olives and capers. Remove caponata from heat and fold in the parsley.
• Prepare a very hot grill or heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush four pieces of heavy-duty foil, about 12 by 18 inches, with remaining oil. Place a bluefish fillet, skin side down, in the center of each. Season each with salt and spread with caponata. Enclose the fillets in foil, leaving some air space; crimp edges tightly to seal.
• Place packages on the grill, close lid and cook about 10 minutes, or cook in oven directly on rack, about 10 minutes. Remove packages, open them and use a wide spatula to slide each fillet with its topping off the skin, which should stick to the foil. Transfer fish to a serving platter or to four dinner plates.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the grill to high.2. Make 8 slits in each eggplant with the tip of a paring knife and insert a half clove of garlic in each. Lightly brush the eggplants, tomatoes, onions, celery, and bell peppers with oil, using about 2 tablespoons, and season with salt and pepper. 3. When ready to cook, arrange the vegetables on the hot grate. Grill the eggplants until the skin is charred all over and the flesh is very soft, 20 to 30 minutes, turning with tongs as needed. Grill the tomatoes, turning with tongs, until the skin is black and blistered, 8 to 12 minutes. Grill the onions, celery, and peppers the same way these will take 10 to 20 minutes in all. Transfer the vegetables as they are done to a cutting board to cool.4. Scrape the charred skin off the vegetables with a paring knife. Remove the stem end from the eggplants and coarsely chop the flesh. Core the tomatoes, then cut crosswise in half, wring out the seeds, and coarsely chop the flesh. Thinly slice the onions, first cutting off the root ends, and celery. Core, seed, and thinly slice the peppers. Transfer the vegetables to a serving bowl.5. Stir in 3 tablespoons oil, the parsley, pine nuts, capers, olives, 2 tablespoons vinegar, the cocoa powder, and salt and pepper. Toss well to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding salt or vinegar as necessary the caponata should be highly seasoned. Serve at room temperature.Serves 6 as an appetizer, 4 as a salad

Steps:

• Soak currants in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and put aside.
• Brush eggplant and onion slices with olive oil on both sides, using the 1/3 cup oil.
• Grill onion slices over a medium-hot fire until lightly charred but cooked through, about 7 minutes per side. Grill eggplant slices for about 5 minutes on each side, until slices are soft inside and outsides have become slightly charred.
• Remove eggplant and onion slices and cool briefly. Remove outer skin from onion slices.
• Drain tomatoes, reserving juice. In a large bowl mix reserved tomato juice with cocoa powder until cocoa dissolves. Chop tomatoes and add to mixture. Then mix in currants, capers, anchovies, green olives, calamata olives, jalapeno pepper and parsley. Coarsely chop eggplant and onions and fold into tomato mixture. Stir in vinegar and the 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with kosher salt. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.