Red pepper caponata

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 Onion; thinly sliced
1 Red bell pepper; cored and chopped
3 Garlic cloves thinly sliced; and
1 Garlic clove finely chopped
3 tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil; plus
1 tablespoon Olive oil; if desired
Salt; to taste
5 Ripe tomatoes with juice; fresh or canned
¼ Jalapeno chile; seeded and minced
1 pinch Cumin
1 pinch Turmeric
1 pinch Ginger
1 pinch Saffron threads
⅛ teaspoon Fennel seeds OR 1/4-bulb fennel; diced
2 tablespoons Sugar; or as desired
1 tablespoon Drained capers; or more to taste
10 Mediterranean olives; green or black, pitted and cut into halves
2 tablespoons Raisins
3 tablespoons Lemon juice; or more to taste
1 tablespoon Chopped fresh marjoram and/or parsley

Directions

Lightly saute the onion, peppers and sliced garlic in the olive oil until they soften; sprinkle with salt as they cook. Add the tomatoes, jalapeno, cumin, turmeric, ginger, saffron, fennel and sugar; cook for 10 minutes or so, until thickened and saucelike.

Stir in the capers, olives, raisins and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning; you want a sweet- sour-spicy balance. Adjust the sugar, lemon juice and spices accordingly.

Stir in the marjoram and/or parsley and the reserved chopped garlic, taste for seasoning and set aside to cool.

Serve as a sauce with the chicken, or as a spread for crostini. Serves 4.

PER (4th) SERVING: 185 calories, 2 g protein, 21 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat (2 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 281 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.

Excerpt from SF Chronicle 05/06/98 Food Section see www.sfgate.com ; Busted by HANNEMAN

Notes: "This is a variation on the classic Sicilian recipe, using peppers instead of eggplant. A caponata is sweet and sour, and very savory, much like a contemporary European chutney. This one is spicy, too -- a small dab on the citrus-spiced chicken breasts enlivens it brilliantly." Recipe by: Marlena Spieler, San Francisco Chronicle (1998) Posted to MC-Recipe Digest by Kitpath <phannema@...> on May 07, 1998

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