Summer Dying Fast

Sweet & sour summer veggies -- a fine accompaniment to any pasta dinner.  I've been sitting on this recipe for a while and I want to share it before the summer's inspirational bounty completely eludes us.

I like to troll the local farmer's market and lovingly harvest the finest zucchini, eggplant, and tomato I can find.  With a dish this simple, you have to make sure your produce is top notch, otherwise you're in for an epically transparent fail.

For optimal results, cut the zucchini and eggplant into uniformly sized pieces and cook over high heat in batches. Get a nice sear on the veggies without overcooking them -- we want toothsome veggies, not a mouthful of muck.

Eggplant & Zucchini Agrodolce

1 medium eggplant, 1/2 inch slices
1 large zucchini,  1/2 inch slices
1 TBS minced garlic
1 hot Italian pepper, thinly sliced.
1 tomato, diced
2 TBS basic sauce
1 TBS honey
1 tsp vincotto (balsamic to substitute)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
salt to taste

1. sauté the zucchini and eggplant over high heat.  don't over-crowd the pan, you want to get nice color on the  veggies -- work in batches.
2. add garlic, hot pepper, and a dash of olive oil.  sauté until fragrant; 1-2 mins. 
3. add the diced tomato w/ its juices, the tomato sauce, and a splash of water.  simmer until the tomato starts  to break down; 4-6 mins.  
4. add honey, vincotto, olive oil and red wine vinegar.  simmer for another 4-5 mins.  garnish w/ parsley and  thyme -- serve hot or at room temperature.  

© 2010 c. c. villani @ "mission: insatiable" - http://www.missioninsatiable.com