originally submitted June 2008

Caponata

My grandmother used to make this and keep it in the fridge. I never once opened the fridge and it wasn’t there. I would eat it by the spoonfuls, but it should be served on crackers.



2 lb. eggplants
½ lb. green olives (packed in brine, pitted)
6 oz. salted capers, rinsed
1 ¼ lb. celery ribs
1 cup tomato sauce (optional)
2/3 lb. onions
2/3 lb. tomatoes
1/3 cup vinegar
2 tbsp. sugar
Basil
3/8 cup pine nuts
olive oil
salt

Begin by stripping the filaments from the celery ribs, then blanch them in lightly salted water for five minutes. Drain and cut them into bite size pieces. Saute in a little oil and set aside.

Wash the eggplant; dice and put the pieces in a strainer. Sprinkle eggplant liberally with salt, and let sit for several hours to draw out the bitter juices. While they’re sitting, blanch, peel, seed, and chop the tomatoes. Once the eggplant has drained for several hours, rinse away the salt and pat the pieces dry.

Finely slice the onion and sauté in olive oil. Once translucent, add the capers, pine nuts, olives, tomatoes and tomato sauce, if using. Continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the tomatoes are done, about 15 minutes, and then remove the pot from the fire.

While the tomatoes are cooking, heat a second pot of oil and fry the diced eggplant, in several batches, to keep the oil from getting chilled. When the last batch is done, return the tomato pot to the fire and stir in the eggplant, together with the sautéed celery. Cook for several minutes over a low flame, stirring gently, then stir in the vinegar and the sugar. When the vinegar is almost completely evaporated, remove the pot from the fire and let it cool.

Serve the Caponata cold with a garnish of fresh basil; it will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

German Pretzels

Submitted by jwolf

Bread Flour 1lb, 1oz (about 4 cups)
Water 10 oz (about 1 ¼ cups)
Salt .3 oz (½ tablespoon)
Yeast .08 oz instant dry (3/4 teaspoon)
Butter (softened) 3 tablespoons
Sugar 2 teaspoons
Pate Fermentee 7 oz (1 cup bread flour, ½ cup water, ¾ teaspoon salt, pinch of yeast. Mix together just until smooth, cover and let stand for 12-16 hours)

Add all ingredients to the mixing bowl, except for the pate fermentee. Mix on low until ingredients are incorporated. Add pate fermentee in chunks. Mix dough on second speed for about 5 minutes. Place dough in greased bowl, cover and place in draft free area for one hour. Do a stretch and fold, cover and let rest for another hour.

Divide dough into 3 ounce pieces. Roll into cylinders, cover and rest for about 5 minutes. Roll each cylinder into 16 inch lengths, tapering the ends. Twist the ends twice and press the ends into the dough on each side to form the pretzels.

Let the pretzels proof for about 30 minutes and then place them, uncovered, in the refrigerator for 40 minutes (this allows them to form a skin, which will help them stand up to the dipping process).

Wearing gloves and eye protection, carefully pick up the pretzels and dip them into the lye solution* (keep them in the solution for about 5 seconds). Place pretzels on a very well-greased, parchment-lined baking sheet (if you think you’ve greased it enough, go back and do it again…the lye makes the pretzels stick). Slash the pretzels with a lame or razor, sprinkle with salt and bake in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes or until a deep, rich brown.

*Lye Solution for dipping; lye = 5% of the water weight. For example, 1 gallon water (at 100 degrees) should be mixed with 6 ½ oz lye.