Sicilian Caponata and Roasted Rosemary Bacon Potatoes

Woohoo! My first post.

The other day, I wanted to re-create the lovely roasted rosemary bacon potatoes I ate during the last Tokyo trip. R and I love to guess what goes into the yummy food we ate while dinning out.

At the same time, I cooked Sicilian caponata which is a vegetarian dish usually cooked with an aubergine-tomato combination found in many Mediterranean cuisines. I'm a big fan of eating as much greens and fruits as possible. Am never a big meat eater.

The Caponata's sauce somehow reminds me of the Chinese sweet and sour pork sauce minus the meat but flavoured with western herbs, namely, oregano, basil or parsley. Instead of the fresh tomatoes, I used canned tomatoes for the convenience.

The Sicilian Caponata was a success. The roasted rosemary potatoes could be a lot better. Got to figure out how to infuse as much rosemary flavour into the potatoes. Rosemary oil?


Roasted Rosemary Bacon Potatoes
5 red potatoes, skin intact and into quarters
3 sprigs of rosemary, Oh yes, harvested from my rosemary planter
2 pcs bacon

Parboil potatoes from cold water to prevent the outside from overcooking. Drain and leave to cool. Fry bacon and rosemary sprigs to extract the flavour. Add potatoes, mix. Transfer to a baking dish, roast for 10 mins at 220 degrees. Serve hot.



Sicilian Caponata
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp caster sugar
sea salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 aubergine, cut into chunks
4 shallots, cut into halfs
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
1 can of unsalted diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, chopped
100g green olives, pitted and sliced
50g capers, rinsed and drained
Handful of basil leaves

In a heavy based pan, heat the olive oil and saute the aubergine, onions, celery and red pepper over high heat for 5 mins. Add the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, vinegar, olives and capers. Cook for another 5-8 minutes, adding some water if needed and stirring occasionally until aubergines are tender. Check the seasoning and leave to cool to room temperature. Tear up the basil leaves and add to the warm caponata. Serve with bread.