A fungetiello, i.e. al funghetto, means “cooked in the manner one would cook mushrooms,” and though I have never encountered mushrooms stewed with olives, eggplant are quite nice this way. The recipe is Neapolitan, from Carola Francesconi’s La Cucina Napoletana, and serves 6.
Prep Time: 1 hours,
Cook Time: 1 hours,
Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 pounds eggplant
- Olive oil for frying
- Parsley or basil, minced
- 10 ripe plum tomatoes, blanched, peeled and chopped.
- 1/4 pound black Gaeta olives (you will likely want mild olives here)
- 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Salt
Preparation:
Dice the eggplant, salt it, and let it sit for an hour, then rinse the pieces and pat them dry. Fry them, about a third at a time, in hot oil, and drain them on absorbent paper.Put 2 tablespoons of oil in a pot, sauté the garlic until it is golden, and stir in the tomatoes and the herbs. Simmer for ten minutes, then add the eggplant, capers and olives. Simmer for a few minutes more and it’s ready.
These eggplants are also quite nice when used as a filling for stuffed peppers or tomatoes!
A wine? White, for example Greco di Tufo.
