Caponata

Today's recipe is an Italian staple but we hadn't tried making it. No reason why we didn't, just never did. But a few days ago, I realized we had all the ingredients and found an easy recipe when I did a search for instapot recipes. As usual I changed it up a bit to reflect our dietary needs. For those of you who don't have an instapot, I've included directions for making this in a crockpot or slow cooker.

We served it hot over pasta as a sauce; but it can be used in a variety of ways. However you choose to serve it, this is a delicious way to add great summer vegetables to your diet.

CAPONATA

Ingredients

1 lb. tomatoes, diced (or 2 15-oz cans Hunt’s diced tomatoes no salt added)

1 medium eggplant cut into ½ inch cubes

2 small zucchini or yellow squash cut into ½ inch cubes

1 small onion, chopped

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried parsley)

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon granulated stevia (Truvia sweetener)

¼ cup chopped dates

½ cup tomato paste (1 6-oz can)

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon freeze dried garlic (can substitute ½ teaspoon minced garlic)

Instructions

For Instapot

1. Add all ingredients to the inner pot of your Instapot. Stir.

2. Set on Manual or Pressure Cook for 10-12 minutes.

3. At the end of the cooking time, allow pressure to release naturally.

4. Open and serve.

For Slow Cooker (Crockpot)

1. Add all ingredients to the crockpot. Stir.

2. Cover and cook on LOW setting for about 5-6 hours.

3. Stir once more and serve.

Notes:

• This Caponata makes a wonderful vegetable-laden sauce to serve with your pasta.

• Serve Caponata warm or cold with a selection of crackers, flatbread, or pita bread as an appetizer.

• Makes a terrific topping for bruschetta.

• Substitute 1 Tablespoon of brown sugar for the Stevia sweetener for an enhanced sweetening effect.