Caponata

Making caponata is a bit of a process but reaps such a reward. At room temperature, it’s wonderful as part of an antipasti spread or as a side dish with simply roasted or grilled chicken, pork, or fish when served warm. Leftovers taste great on a sandwich the next day.

Yield

Serves 6

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, as needed 1 medium Italian eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½- inch chunks 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into-1 inch chunks 1 medium onion, chopped 2 stalks celery, chopped ⅓ cup golden raisins ¼ cup pitted green Italian olives, coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts 1 tablespoon drained tiny capers in brine Kosher salt Pinch peperoncino 3 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped ¼ cup white wine vinegar 1 tablespoon sugar ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

Recipe

Heat a thin film of vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium. Add the eggplant cubes and fry, stirring and turning them so they cook evenly, until the eggplant is golden brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant with a slotted spoon, and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.

Heat the olive oil in a second large skillet. Add the zucchini and bell pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the eggplant. Add the onion and celery to the olive oil remaining in second skillet, and cook until the vegetables are wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the raisins, green olives, pine nuts, and capers. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and the peperoncino, and continue cooking, stirring, until the vegetables are soft but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

While the vegetables are cooking, make the sugar-mint syrup. Bring the vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the sugar and the mint, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until thick and syrupy, about 2 minutes.

Pour the syrup into the skillet with the vegetables and simmer to combine. Stir in the eggplant, zucchini, and pepper mixture and cook to heat through and bring the flavors together, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Leftover caponata keeps well in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Return to room temperature before serving.

Steak... an Italian classic? It’s not the first thing that comes to mind when we think about Italy’s best-loved dishes. But each region of the country has produce and ingredients that make it unique. In Tuscany, among the many foods that make it such a special place, is the beef that comes from the Chianina longhorn cattle, one of the oldest breeds in the world, and that has been raised in Tuscany, especially in the area around Maremma, outside Florence, for more than two thousand years. The magnificent Chianina, which is herded on the range by Italian cowboys called butteri, is also one of the largest cattle breeds and is recognized by its white coat. With the mammoth steaks that come from the Chianina, Tuscan cooks created a signature dish, bistecca alla Fiorentina—the steak (a Porterhouse cut from the rear short loin) is brushed with olive oil, grilled to rare or medium-rare, then brushed (with fresh rosemary sprigs) with a paste of olive oil, fresh rosemary, and sea salt. It tastes of Tuscany’s terroir and the Tyrrhenian Sea that borders the Maremma countryside.

While you can’t get a Chianina steak in the U.S., you can do the next best thing by using the recipe on the next page and buying a top-quality Porterhouse from a sustainable producer at your favorite butcher’s. With it, try a glass of one of Tuscany’s exquisite red wines. Among the Tuscan wines is one made by our family’s Azienda Agricola Bastianich; we make La Mozza Aragone Maremma Toscana, a blend of Sangiovese, Alicante, Syrah, and Carignan grapes, that we are quite proud of.

With such a substantial main course, a lighter side dish is the way to go. As many Italians do for a vegetarian meal, I like to stuff and bake some of the season’s tomatoes. They can be filled with a mixture that includes rice, but for a lighter dish, I stuff mine with a blend of panko, herbs, and cheese. In the recipe here I’ve used rosemary, to pick up the flavor of the rosemary-brushed steak. In Tuscany you might use the region’s short, fat, and ribbed Pisanello tomato, but any good plum tomato will do. It’s a meal sure to evoke the pleasures of eating under the Tuscan sun.