Do you need a Mediterranean vacation? This leaf Pan dinner is the next best

Whenever I have a flood of late summer products, I make a large batch of Caponata, a Sicilian aubergine dish that is strengthened with tomatoes, celery, capers and sometimes carrots or peppers. (Some would say it is the Italian version of Ratatouille.) Caponata has a thick, one -pot -like texture; The dish is typically served as part of an antipasto plate or with bread, fish or pasta. It is traditionally made on the stove in a large Dutch oven or pot that requires frequent stirring to prevent burning. This summer, however, I contacted my trustworthy sheet metal pan to get a hand-off approach.

My sheet metal version could not be easier: chop the vegetables, roast until they are soft, and then easily crush with some capers, olives, fresh parsley and a splash of olive oil and red wine vinegar. This helps to marry the flavors and create a slightly cheeky consistency that imitates the traditional version.

Even if Caponata is drawn to thick slices of crispy bread, Caponata is hardly a full meal. In fact, it is generally considered a pleasure. Nevertheless, some fish fillets are everything you need to transform this aromatic side into a simple, satisfactory dinner. I prefer cod for its mild taste and velvety texture, but another white fish such as halibut or shellfish will also work well. As soon as the vegetables come out of the oven, cook the fish on the same sheet metal pan and keep the cleaning minimally.

Fry the vegetables hot and fast and cook the fish low and slow

When cooking Caponata on a sheet metal pan, there is a risk that the vegetables run out rather dry and crispy than soft and juicy. This is because the low sides of the pan are particularly exposed to the hot air of the oven. To mitigate this, I use state-of-the-art vegetables such as eggplant and cherry tomatoes and skip the carrots and celery in traditional versions that dry out easily in the oven. The vegetables are roasted at a relatively high temperature of 204 ° C, which quickly gives them soft. You want to turn the oven down when it is time to cook the cod.

Cod makes an ideal canvas for the powerful, sweet and acid caponata, since the mild fish does not compete with the bold taste of the Caponata. But cod and other white fish fillets are notoriously easy to boil over. In order to minimize this risk, I reduce the oven temperature to 150 ° C to 300 ° F so that the fish can bake low and slowly. The brushing of the fillets with a little olive oil also keeps you moist. Remember that the actual cooking time is very different depending on your fish. You know that it is done when the fish feels firmly on the touch and the flakes with a fork. You can also use an immediate thermometer to test the bone: You are looking for 60 ° C at the thickest part of the fillet for 140 ° F.

The season is enforceable for a proper agrodolce taste

Caponata is often described as “agrodolce”, an Italian term for enforceable sweet dishes. Many recipes require golden raisins or currants to deliver this characteristic sweetness, but I don’t always hold them at hand. Instead, I simply add a few teaspoons with good old -fashioned sugar, which improves the natural sweetness of the roasted peppers and tomatoes and is balanced with a healthy splash. A generous amount of salt is also the key to a robust -like bowl.

During the fish the Caponata cooks and marries the vegetables the sweet, Esgary dressing and the flavors to merge. Don’t worry that it cools down: Caponata is a dish that tastes best at room temperature.

Serve with crispy bread, pearl couscous or a hearty grain

Serve this dish as soon as the cod comes out of the oven because the fish looks longer. Share the Caponata onto the panels, then enter them with a fillet or put it next to it. Pearl couscous or crispy bread make great vehicles to search additional sauce, but a hearty grain like pearl barley or farro would also be nice. End with a drizzle of your chic olive oil to get a peppery note – it is the perfect cut.

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