Peperonata (or Italian Eggplant)

Ingredients (use vegan versions):

1 large eggplant
2 large bell peppers (capsicum)
1 can/tin of diced tomatoes
2-3 garlic cloves
Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Peel and dice eggplant. Generously salt the eggplant to
remove bitterness and let sit for 20-30 minutes or until
the eggplant “sweats”. Rinse the eggplant and pat dry to
remove extra moisture.

While the eggplant is sitting, de-seed and dice both bell
peppers. You can use red, green or yellow ones, depending
on how colorful you want this to look.

Put a generous amount of oil in your skillet and turn the
heat up to medium high. Put in your eggplant and kinda of
stir-fry it, keeping it moving until it starts to get
soft. Then add the bell pepper. When the pepper starts to
go a bit soft, crush your garlic and add that to the
skillet stirring constantly. Then add your can of
tomatoes. You can use the Italian seasoned tomatoes if
you’d like a bit of extra flavor.

Lower the heat to simmering, cover and cook an additional
15-20 minutes stirring occasionally.

Before serving, give it a quick stir to blend in the
flavors one last time.

This recipe freezes great, and you can eat it hot or cold
as a dip. My favorite way is to buy a nice loaf of french
bread, hollow out the centre, and fill it with the
Peperonata. What a great way to prepare for a picnic!

Serves: 3-4

Preparation time: 45 Mins.