Italian style aubergine stew (Caponata)

• 
  I absolutely adore Italian flavours and Italian cuisine. They've managed to craft a cuisine so universally loved that, especially here in the UK and with our US cousins, we've taken to producing absolutely tonnes of pasta and pizza each and every day. It's with this output that I've grown to know and love the rich, vibrant flavours and visuals Italian cuisine has to offer with traditional dishes like Lasagne, Spaghetti, Gnocchi and Ristto. 
• However, southern Italian cuisine has something a little different to offer than the traditional expectations, still with the same vibrancy and sense of tradition, which speaks to the newfound vegetarian in me. One of those such offerings is Caponata, a beautiful Sicilian dish which can be worked perfectly as a side dish with some aromatic and homely ciabatta or, in the case of this recipe, served up in a big portion with creamy polenta.

I encourage you each and all to have a look at what southern Italian cuisine, and Sicilian cuisine, is all about as I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the richness of the meals and the cheapness of the ingredients used to make them as well as the simplicity of the dishes themselves to make.

This meal is out and ready to go in around fifteen minutes if you're prepared and ain't too bad a cook. It's still exceptionally swift to put together even if you're still learning the ropes and the flavours don't fail to pack a punch.

Caponata

• 1/2 large aubergine , cut into medium-large chunks
• 2 large cloves garlic , finely minced (add a sprinkle of salt to assist)
• 1 small shallot, quartered
• 2 tbsp salted capers (around 10-15 capers)
• 1 handful black olives (around 5-7 olives) , stones removed (obviously)
• 2 large ripe tomatoes , roughly chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped into four slices
• 5 sprigs fresh oregano, leaves stripped and finely chopped
• 1 small bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves stripped and finely chopped
• 2tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 50ml tomato stock or 2tbsp tomato puree and 50ml water
• 1tsp plain flour
• Ground black pepper
• Salt
• Method
• Add some oil (any cooking oil you like but it is Italian so olive wouldn't go amiss) to a large pan and turn up to a medium-high heat. Add your aubergine and shallot and season well with salt and pepper and toss regularly to ensure good coverage of heat and seasoning. Reduce your heat to medium after 5 minutes and your veg is starting to soften and char at which point you should add your tomatoes and red pepper and cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
  
  Once the tomatoes have softened up sprinkle with flour, add your stock and capers and cook for only a few minutes more, finally tossing in the oregano and parsley.
  
  Serve with smooth and creamy polenta and add a little oregano or parsley on top for garnish and a little sprinkling of chilli flakes for that extra hit.