- 1 kg eggplant, cut into small cubes
- 1 bunch of celery, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 250g of tomatoes
- A handful of capers
- A handful of pine nuts
- 250g of green olives
- Sugar and vinegar
The first step is to remove the excess liquid from the eggplant by sprinking the eggplant cubes with salt and placing them in a colander. Let the eggplant steep for an hour or more. Throw them into abundant vegetable oil and fry them until the surface is golden. In the meantime, boil the celery for few minutes until it is soft, and remove it with a skimmer and set aside. Keep the water. Now you can prepare the sauce. In a frying pan put some olive oil and brown onion, then add the tomato, salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar if needed. Simmer the tomato until it has melted and reduced to a nice, sauce-like consistency. Now add back your eggplant and celery, along with the capers, pine nuts, olives. Allow everything to simmer together for about 5-10 minutes. A minute or two before it’s done, add the sugar and vinegar, mix well (but gently!) and let it finish simmering. Let the dish cool entirely before serving.
