Caponata

Continuing the theme of slop-on-flatbread...

I'm really surprised that this turned out so good.  Devon said that this was one of the best things I've ever made, and it was pulled together from some pretty random ingredients.  I began with the recipe for "Caponata Crostini" in Vegan Planet because I had an eggplant and a pepper.  But I was missing several key ingredients: a can of tomatoes, capers, parsley.  I ended up using some leftover salsa verde to add the acidity the tomatoes would have added.  I also threw in some sundried tomatoes in oil (which had a few capers in with them).  Chopped basil made the dish (I think) more interesting than parsley would have.  And because I had not chopped the veggies nearly finely enough to make it spreadable, I pureed about a third of the finished mixture and recombined it, which yielded a great texture for serving on pita bread.

Eggplant Caponata Spread

Ingredients
2 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
about 1/2 c salsa, tomato sauce, or chopped tomatoes (if using fresh tomatoes, use closer to 1 c)
1/4 c sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste (there may be quite a bit of salt and chili in there already)
1 TB red wine vinegar
2 tsp sugar
water as needed
3-5 TB fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion 5 min.  Add eggplant and cook about 5 more minutes, until eggplant begins to soften.  Add pepper, garlic, salsa, and tomatoes.  Add salt and pepper as desired.  Cook 10-15 minutes longer on medium low heat.  Add vinegar, sugar, and water (if needed to make it slightly saucy).
Remove skillet from heat.  Separate 1/3 of mixture and allow to cool before pureeing smaller amount and mixing back with the rest.  Stir in basil.  Serve with warm pita bread or on crusty Italian bread.  Serves about 4.