Caponata with Eggplant, Fennel and Tomato

As I drove down our hill this morning I saw a man running uphill on the grass, chasing his small dog.  It made me smile and he in turn, returned my smile, and caught his dog at the same time.

I wanted a dog when I was a teenager but had to suffice with walking the neighbour's cattle dog called Pete.   Back before leashes became law and you could meander leisurely together at your own pace.    When we lived in Sydney in a townhouse a friend found a small stray dog of an  indiscriminate breed so I offered to take him in and tried to train him.   We called him Woofer and he escaped the back yard when we were working, so many times as we were renovating.   The fence although respectable was constructed of timber and somehow Woofer managed to escape through the tiniest of holes to go running wildly in nearby Queens Park.   After quite a few fines we decided we did not have the best backyard for a dog, or the funds to keep retrieving him from the Ranger so we gave him away to friends with a large backyard in Pagewood where he was free to run.

My next encounter with a dog was when we built our house 9 years ago and we didn't have an Eastern boundary fence as the land there was vacant.  The Western side neighbours had a dog called DJ - or it might have been deejay, I'm not really sure.  He was a glossy caramel staffy and was allowed to wonder freely every afternoon for a walk.  As my husband and I are keen gardeners we would dig our compost into the garden and DJ would come around the next day and dig it all up looking for a tasty tidbit.   We decided to buy a plastic compost bin, DJ was quite disappointed but the garden flourished.    I was actually disappointed when the neighbours moved away as DJ was such a friendly dog.

We now have two cats, a 14 year old Himalayan and a 1.5 year old Himalayan/Ragdoll who thinks he is a bunny rabbit, as well as 3 chirping budgerigars.   We do not have to walk any of them.

We presently have an abundance of eggplant (aubergine) so I am always looking for different ways to cook these lovely vegetables.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Type of Caponata

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large eggplant, chopped into 2cm pieces
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 fennel bulb,finely sliced
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers
1/3 cup pitted olives, black or green
salt and pepper to taste
basil leaves and pine puts to garnish

Heat up a large pan, add olive oil, onion, eggplant and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the fennel and stir well to combine.  Add the tomatoes, red wine vinegar and water, salt and pepper, cover with lid, turn pan to low and cook for 10 minutes.
Remove lid, stir and check for softness.  When the fennel and eggplant are soft add the capers and olives, stirring and heating for 2 minutes.
Serve, garnished with chopped basil leaves and toasted pine nuts.  Grated parmesan is optional but nice as well.
Serve with pasta and/or a crusty loaf of bread and a green salad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Are you a dog person or a cat person, or both?  

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx