This eggplant stew, for want of better terminology, is best served at room temperature. If allowed to stand over night the flavours will marry together even more so. Add crispy bread on the side and a few rocket leaves if wished.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, peeled and sliced
• 2 stalks celery, finely sliced
• ¼ cup tomato paste (sundried is nice here)
• 800 grams fresh tomatoes, halved
• 400 gram can tomatoes in juice, chopped
• ½ cup vegetable stock
• 1 tblsp salted capers, rinsed
• ½ cup Italian green olives
• 2 tblsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tblsp sugar
• ¼ cup currants
• 2 aubergines, about 1 kg (see Cook’s Tip)
• ¼ cup Italian parsley

Method

1. Pan fry the onion and celery in a dash of oil until tender. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.
2. Scoop the seeds out from the fresh tomatoes and discard. Dice the flesh and add to the pan with the canned tomatoes and juice, vegetable stock, capers, olives, wine vinegar, sugar and currants. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
3. Cut the aubergines lengthwise in half and cut each half into 1.5cm square pieces.
4. Add the aubergines, toss in the hot sauce and cook a further 8-10 minutes until the aubergine is tender. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve hot with fresh crusty-style bread.

Cooks Tips

Young small aubergines do not require salting to remove their bitter juices. If you are using a large aubergine, once you have cut into pieces, layer with about 1-1.5 tblsp of salt in a colander and stand for 30 minutes to allow the bitter juices to disgorge. Rinse well before cooking.