Eggplant Caponata with Roasted Garlic Hummus

The recipe and photography for this post was provided by Carolyn Hodges of The Dinner Shift.

Caponata is a classic Sicilian dish featuring roasted, fried or stewed eggplant. While it’s often served as an appetizer, it works well as a side dish to chicken and fish or served front and center as the main dish as I’m suggesting here. Serving caponata atop hummus is a great way to add protein and turn this hearty vegetable dish into a vegan entrée.

In addition to eggplant, some of the more traditional vegetables in caponata include celery, onion, tomatoes and a few tangy or briny ingredients like vinegar, capers and green olives. Feel free to add crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat. While I’m using fresh parsley in this recipe, fresh basil is delicious, too.

To keep this a weeknight-friendly 30-minute meal,  I’m sauteing the vegetables in olive oil instead of roasting. The caponata can be prepped up to 3 days in advance and served warm, at room temperature or as a chilled, cooked salad. Be sure to serve this with plenty of toasted pita bread.

Eggplant Caponata with Roasted Garlic Hummus

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small to medium eggplant, about 1 pound, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ large red onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 2 tablespoons green olives.  coarsely-chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 10-ounce container Heinen’s Roasted Garlic Hummus
• Whole wheat pita bread, toasted and quartered

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet (with lid) over medium heat. Add eggplant, bell pepper, onion and celery and sauté for 10-15 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic and oregano and cook for 1 minute. Add the diced tomatoes, capers, olives and balsamic vinegar and stir until well combined. Cover and reduce heat to low. Continue to cook for 10 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.
3. To serve, spread one-fourth of the hummus onto each of four plates and top with caponata. Serve alongside toasted pita.

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