Caponata

Last night I made Caponata! It was so fast and delicious - perfect for a hyper active impatient cook! I sauteed chopped onions, cubed eggplant, chopped kalamata and regular black olives, tons of fresh garlic cored and chopped-in-salt, sprinkles of red chili flakes, a large can of diced tomatoes, freshly chopped basil, 2 bags of fresh spinach. I usually add chopped celery and Job Lot capers too. I simmered it in my Dutch oven, uncovered, on the stove top. We ate it as a stew for supper with fresh bread and chunks of Romano cheese.

From Wikipedia

Caponata is a Sicilian aubergine dish, a cooked vegetable salad made from chopped fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetened vinegar, and capers in a sweet and sour sauce.

[1] Numerous local variations of the ingredients exist with some versions adding olives, carrots and green bell peppers, and others adding potatoes, or pine nuts and raisins. There is even a Palermo version that adds octopus, while an aristocratic Sicilian recipe includes lobster and swordfish garnished with wild asparagus, grated dried tuna roe and shrimp.[2] However, these last examples are exceptions to the general rule of a sweet and sour cooked vegetable stew or salad.

Today, caponata is typically used as a side dish for fish dishes and sometimes as an appetizer, but since the 1700s it has also been used as a main course.

Caponata is an example of the aubergine-tomato combination that is found in many Mediterranean cuisines, such as Provençal ratatouia, Catalan Samfaina, Maltese kapunata and the different moussaka found in the eastern Mediterranean.