Spicy potato and eggplant pan – Cianfotta

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 6 small eggplant(s), round purple
• 2 medium-sized potatoes, waxy
• 1 Pepper, red, long, mild
• 10 small onions, red
• 2 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 6 m.-large tomato(s), fully ripe
• 2 tbsp celery, fresh or frozen
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 5 tbsp tomato juice
• 5 green beans, fresh or frozen
• 1 tsp, heaped salt
• 2 pinches of black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tsp, heaped herbs, Italian
• 1 tsp, chopped chili flakes (e.g. Pul Biber)
• 1 tbsp celery leaves
• e.g. pine nuts or almond flakes
• e.g. Parmesan

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes

A hearty side dish for meat dishes. Recipe from the Basilicata region of Italy.

Wash the eggplants, cut off the stems and leaves, and quarter the aubergines lengthwise. Salt the quarters well and let the salt soak in for 30 minutes. Then rinse thoroughly and dry in a fresh kitchen towel. Peel the potatoes, quarter them lengthwise, and then cut them into thirds crosswise. Wash the red peppers, remove the stems, halve them lengthwise, remove the seeds and membranes, and cut the halves crosswise into approximately 1 cm wide pieces. Trim both ends of the onions and garlic cloves, peel them, and roughly chop them. Wash the tomatoes, remove the stems, skin them, quarter them lengthwise, and remove the green stems and seeds. Chop the quarters into small pieces with a cleaver. Wash the fresh celery, shake it dry, and pick off any unblemished leaves and chop them. Keep a sufficient amount on hand and freeze the remaining leaves. Measure out frozen goods and let them thaw. Cut the leafless, unblemished stalks crosswise into approximately 3 mm long rolls. Measure the amount you need and set aside, then freeze the rest. Measure the frozen beans and let them thaw. Wash the fresh green beans, trim both ends, chop crosswise into approximately 4 cm long pieces, and set aside. Cut the frozen beans in the same way. Heat a medium-sized pan, add the olive oil, and heat until hot. Add the potatoes and fry until browned. Add the onions and peppers and stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the eggplant pieces and stir-fry for another minute. Finally, add the tomatoes and chopped celery stalks and stir in. Deglaze with the tomato juice. Stir in the spices and simmer gently with the lid on for 40 minutes. Do not stir. Sprinkle the green beans over the almost-finished cianfotta 8 minutes before the end. Depending on how tightly the lid seals, you may need to add a little more tomato juice. The cianfotta is properly cooked when only a trace of sauce remains. Divide it among serving plates, garnish, and serve as a side dish. Enjoy. Note: The potatoes and eggplant are juicy, flavorful, and melt in your mouth. For connoisseurs, cianfotta is THE side dish, always preferred. In Italy, cianfotta is also served as a main course. It is oven-baked and often sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.