garden vegetables Archives · Jess in the Kitchen

Maltese Caponata

Cooking and baking my way around the world. Let’s create some Maltese Caponata!

For nearly three years, I have been involved in a special collaboration on Instagram hosted by my friend Claire. Each month, she spins a random country generator for us to explore and cook their cuisine. There are no other rules. We can create any dish we want, sweet or savory; cooking or baking; For a small town midwestern girl, this has been an eye opening and taste bud awakening.

However, I haven’t shared this journey on Jess in the Kitchen. For the longest time, I thought that since it wasn’t a recipe created by me, I shouldn’t share it. After this last month, I asked myself, “Why not? Don’t you want to inspire others to experience cuisines from around the world as well?” So here we are! I am excited to share the dish I cooked for Malta: Caponata!

Caponata is a perfect fresh garden or farmer’s market dish. It’s an appetizer with a perfect blend of sweet and sour flavors. It can be served hot or cold; on its own or on top of a toasted baguette. I used the recipe from Yesenia at Apron and Whisk (please check it out!) and it couldn’t be easier!

This was my take on Caponata.

Your Ingredients

1 small eggplant, about 300 g
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 bell peppers (I did two green), diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2-3 large tomatoes, cored and diced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ apple, peeled and diced
3 tablespoons capers
⅓ cup olives (half black, half green; both halved)
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chiffonade
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chiffonade
Salt and pepper

I did try to follow the recipe as Yesenia wrote it. It truly was a simple and delightful side dish!

Steps to Maltese Caponata

Start by dicing the eggplant. Sprinkle it with salt and allow the salt to draw out the moisture, about 20 minutes. While the eggplant is resting, dice the peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Halve the olives as well.

Begin heating a large saucepan. Meanwhile, use a paper towel to dry the moisture from the eggplant. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the eggplant. Cook until tender and browned, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the pan and set aside. If necessary, wash the saucepan before adding remaining oil.

Add the onions and peppers to the pan, cooking until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cooking an additional 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, and apple. Also add a pinch of pepper and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes.

One the tomatoes have created a sauce, add the eggplant, capers, olives, and red wine vinegar. Cook for just a few minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.

Top with basil and mint. You can serve it hot or cold, on its own or on top of crusty bread (I have also enjoyed it over leftover rice. It’s so good!). Enjoy your own Maltese Caponata!

Maltese Caponata

This Maltese Caponata makes a great summer salad from all those beautiful garden vegetables with notes of sweet, salty, and savory flavors!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Maltese

Servings servings

Equipment

Ingredients

1 small eggplant about 300 g
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 bell peppers I did two green, diced
1 medium onion diced
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2-3 large tomatoes cored and diced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ apple peeled and diced
3 tablespoons capers
⅓ cup olives half black, half green; both halved
1 tablespoon fresh mint chiffonade
1 tablespoon fresh basil chiffonade
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Start by dicing the eggplant. Sprinkle it with salt and allow the salt to draw out the moisture, about 20 minutes. While the eggplant is resting, dice the peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Halve the olives as well.
Begin heating a large saucepan. Meanwhile, use a paper towel to dry the moisture from the eggplant. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and add the eggplant. Cook until tender and browned, about 5 minutes. Remove it from the pan and set aside. If necessary, wash the saucepan before adding remaining oil.
Add the onions and peppers to the pan, cooking until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cooking an additional 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add in the tomatoes, tomato paste, and apple. Also add a pinch of pepper and salt. Cook for about 10 minutes.
One the tomatoes have created a sauce, add the eggplant, capers, olives, and red wine vinegar. Cook for just a few minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary.
Top with basil and mint. You can serve it hot or cold, on its own or on top of crusty bread.

Keyword Caponata, cold vegetable salad, easy sides, Eggplant, green peppers, Kapunata, Malta, Maltese, side dish, summer salad, summer side dish, tomatoes, vegetables, vegetarian

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other Salad Inspiration?

Check out a few of my favorite summer salads below! Or feel free to head to my cooking page to pick your own!

August 7, 2024August 7, 2024

JessLeave a comment

Summer Garden Orzo Salad

This time of year, my kitchen table is littered with fresh vegetables. Often, I am set on preserving them for eating in the cold winter months. It helps me remember the summer flavors. However, I also try to cook with the fresh vegetables so we can enjoy the fruits of our labor right away. This summer garden orzo salad takes just a few simple ingredients to create a beautiful and light dish for all the summer cooking.

I especially love it because all of the vegetables present are ripening at the same time. As you harvest the zucchini, you are checking the tomatoes. The fragrance of the basil is heavy. And corn can JUST come off the stalk if you’re lucky. No garden? No problem! These are all easily found at the farmer’s market for the freshest taste!

And as for the orzo? I have always loved it. It’s pasta, but has the feel of rice. In this recipe, a little goes a long way, so while we are only making about three servings of orzo, this side will create about 5-6 servings.

Ready to get cooking? Let’s go!

Your Ingredients for Summer Garden Orzo Salad

1 small zucchini, diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup fresh corn, cut off the cob
1 cup dried orzo
¼ cup fresh basil, very lightly packed
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Juice from half of a lemon
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Your Steps

Begin by cooking the orzo to al dente according to the package directions. While the orzo is cooking, dice zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Cut the corn from the cob. Set aside.

Meanwhile, combine olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper, and salt in a liquid measuring cup. Whisk together.

Drain the orzo and rinse with cool water. Combine the orzo and vegetables in a large boil. Whisk the dressing once more and then pour over the salad mixture. Stir to combine. Chiffon the basil into the bowl and stir once more. For the best flavor, allow the salad to chill for 2-3 hours, but I am awful at that. I always just have to dive in!

Tools of the trade!

I have a few tools I use daily in my kitchen, without fail. I adore my flexible cutting boards (Seriously, if you don’t have them yet, invest. You’ll thank me!) I also really dig my Pyrex bowls that come with covers. They go from mixing to table to the fridge without another messy dish. Finally, whenever I am making salads that require dressing, I love my 1 cup liquid measuring cup. Everything gets measured right into there for pouring ease!

Summer Garden Orzo Salad

The flavors of a summer garden mix with orzo pasta and lemon for a light and simple summer salad!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings people

Ingredients

1 small zucchini diced (about 2 cups)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 cup fresh corn cut off the cob
1 cup dried orzo
¼ cup fresh basil very lightly packed
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Juice from half of a lemon
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Begin by coooking the orzo to al dente according to the package directions. While the orzo is cooking, dice zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Cut the corn from the cob. Set aside.
Meanwhile, combine olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, pepper, and salt in a liquid measuring cup. Whisk together.
Drain the orzo and rinse with cool water. Combine the orzo and vegetables in a large boil.
Whisk the dressing once more and then pour over the salad mixture. Stir to combine.
Chiffon the basil into the bowl and stir once more.
For the best flavor, allow the salad to chill for 2-3 hours.

Keyword basil, cherry tomatoes, orzo, orzo salad, pasta salad, tomatoes, zucchini

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other great recipes to pair with the Summer Garden Orzo Salad?

Give any of these a try! Or head to my baking or cooking page!

August 13, 2022April 23, 2023

JessLeave a comment

So Simple Tomato Soup

I’ve always enjoyed a grilled cheese and some tomato soup. It wasn’t on my top list of favorites, but it definitely provides a source of comfort. Then I started baking sourdough bread and let me tell you, homemade sourdough quite possibly makes the best grilled cheese you’ll ever have. It’s been my “easy lunch” on the weekend countless times because it makes me so happy. Wait, you don’t bake sourdough…yet? What are you waiting for? Check it out here!

Okay, I digress. Sourdough grilled cheese is incredible, but tomato soup makes it so much better. And alas, we don’t generally have it on hand anymore since I make my own soups from scratch (I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to soup…it’s a bit of an obsession). But recently it was chilly out and I just needed tomato soup. I looked around my fridge and pantry and put this together in flash…along with a grilled cheese of course.

A few notes from me: Most tomato soups (and creamy soups in general) call for heavy cream. I never have that on hand, and I like to make soups with things that I have on hand. I find that milk works just fine and makes for a slightly lighter soup without compromising too much. If you dig a creamier soup, feel free to use heavy cream rather than milk. If you haven’t noticed yet, I like to sneak all the veggies I can into a meal. It’s how I roll. This soup isn’t any different. Finally, this soup makes use of an immersion blender/stick blender (click here to see which one I have). If you don’t have one, it’s a pretty sweet kitchen gadget that has tons of uses and doesn’t take up too much space. I recommend it 🙂

Okay, let’s get cooking!

Your ingredients:

1 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced zucchini (about 1 small)
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes (I used one salt free and one garlic seasoned), NOT drained
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 cup milk (I used 1%)
1/2 tablespoon honey (to taste)

Directions:

Heat oil over medium heat in a large kettle. Once hot, add carrot, onion salt, pepper, and basil. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, until soft. Add minced garlic, zucchini, cooking for an addition 5-8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and allow to just caramelize. (If you are worried about burning it, you can skip the caramelize). Stir in diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, making sure your vegetables are nice and soft. Hit all your soup goodness with the immersion blender and blend until smooth (a shorter time if you want texture, a longer time if you want a more commercial tomato soup). Slowly stir in milk and honey. Leave over the heat until warm.

If you want a thicker soup, feel free to allow it to cook down a little bit. But if you’re like me at all, you’ll just be itching to get that warm goodness in your belly and you’ll eat it right away, complete with a grilled cheese. Yum!

I can’t help but take a picture of chopped vegetables. So pretty.

So Simple Tomato Soup

A few easy, on hand ingredients combine to make a simple from scratch tomato soup everyone will love!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe

Total Time 20

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings

Ingredients

1 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced zucchini about 1 small
1/2 cup tomato paste
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes NOT drained
1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 cups chicken stock/broth
1 cup milk I used 1%
1/2 tablespoon honey to taste

Instructions

Heat oil over medium heat in a large kettle. Once hot, add carrot, onion salt, pepper, and basil. Sauté for 8-10 minutes, until soft.
Add minced garlic, zucchini, cooking for an addition 5-8 minutes.
Stir in tomato paste and allow to just caramelize. (If you are worried about burning it, you can skip the caramelize).
Stir in diced tomatoes and chicken stock. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, making sure your vegetables are nice and soft.
Blend until smooth using an immersion blender and blend. (a shorter time if you want texture, a longer time if you want a more commercial tomato soup).
Slowly stir in milk and honey. Leave over the heat until warm.
If you want a thicker soup, feel free to allow it to cook down a little bit.