Caponata

Caponata is a wonderful grilled vegetable salad.  This was by far the most fabulous salad I have ever tried and it actually fairly simple to make.  The recipes calls for eggplant and red onions (preferably Bermuda) to be grilled and mixed in with an abundance of other vegetables and ingredients.  The key is to prepare the vegetables the day before which will allow the flavors to bind nicely together.

Ingredients:

1. 1 eggplant
2. 1 red onion
3. 3 roma tomatoes
4. 1 cup celery, chopped
5. 4 Greek olives, pitted and sliced
6. 2 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
7. 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
8. 1 tablespoons capers
9. 1 tablespoons raisins
10. 2 teaspoons sugar
11. 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
12. Romaine lettuce, chopped

Instructions:

Prepare the grill for medium direct grilling.  Slice the eggplant into 1/2 inch thick rounds and quarter and skewer the onion quarters.  Brush on a light coat of olive oil to the eggplant slices and the quartered onion.  Grill the eggplant for about 5 minutes, flipping in between and the onions for about 10 minutes, rotating in between.  Remove the vegetables from the grill.

Prepare a large skillet or sauce pan with a small amount of olive oil, add the celery and saute for about 5 minutes.  Now add in the tomatoes, eggplant, onions, red wine vinegar, capers, raisins, olives, sugar, and pepper.  Mix the combination well and cook for about 10 minutes over low heat.  Let cool and place in a covered dish and refrigerate over night.

Server chilled on a bed of chopped Romaine lettuce with a nice oil and vinegar dressing.

Results:

This was an amazing salad.  I actually added in some chopped up fresh mozzarella with the salad that added another nice kick.  I am working on a slightly different version now that will have a few more vegetables in it.

Source: bbq.about.com