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Mario Batali: Vegetable Caponata on Sweet Potato Crisps

By Mario Batali, Tribune Content Agency on

One of the most memorable dishes I ever tasted during autumn was a caponata from Sicily I had decades ago. To replicate the dichotomy of sweet and sour flavors I fell so deeply in love with, I've paired my Vegetable Caponata with Sweet Potato Crisps as my serving vessel. Some caponata recipes call for sugar and vinegar, but the beauty of my key ingredient in this recipe, apple cider vinegar, is that you kill two birds with one stone. Apple cider vinegar also tones down the sour taste found in some caponatas that use red or white vinegars. I hit my pan with the cider vinegar and a splash of water only when my cubed root vegetables have just barely browned.

Celery root is an odd and delicious vegetable, resembling something some alien galaxy that crash landed at the farmer's market. However, when you peel it and cut it into little cubes, as is the traditional Sicilian style of preparing caponata, this oddity turns into something dreamy. All the vegetables in this dish (celery root, fennel, sweet potato and onion) can go into the pan raw because they are cubed so finely. If you want larger sweet potato crisps with a heftier portion of caponata, I would suggest roasting your root vegetables just through before tossing them together in a large cast iron skillet.

The sweet and sour tones are made ever richer with the subtle saltiness in this recipe. To add a hit of flavor before serving to guests, I add a pinch of regular table salt and freshly cracked black pepper. It's important to use kosher salt when you want to marinate or brine things, which is my go-to during the holiday season. However with this recipe, I simply use sea salt. Remember that it never needs to be complicated in your home pantry, and salt should be the least of your worries. To finish the dish, I like to use a flakey sea salt, like Maldon, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

Vegetable Caponata on Sweet Potato Crisps

Makes 15 servings.

For the Caponata:

 

Olive oil

1/2 cup onion (1/4-inch dice)

1/2 cup celery root (1/4-inch dice)

1/2 cup fennel (1/4-inch dice; reserving the fennel fronds)

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