Pockets of joy in June so far:
Quiet sea swims, with the promise of more to come. The last of the asparagus with good olive oil and flaky salt. Sunset runarounds at Hackney Downs. Tomato wedges and jaggedy cucumber chunks to beat the heat. The sweet, sweet relief of strong anti-histamine. Celery caponata with cool, milky mozzarella. Softly poached apricots with crumbled halva.
Caponata is a Sicilian vegetable dish, traditionally made with fried aubergine, tomato, olives, capers, sultanas and red wine vinegar. It’s safe to say that the recipe I’m sharing below is quite a departure from tradition and one that I fear might have Italians up in arms. There is no aubergine; instead I use celery, which I think is woefully underused, often assuming a back-up role in a soffritto or similar, rather than taking centre stage. Celery not only gives the caponata more texture, it also creates an altogether less rich dish. Despite the lack of aubergine, the recipe does adhere to what I consider to be the ~ essence ~ of caponata, and that is a balance of sweetness, saltiness, brininess and sharpness to create the agrodolce flavours that Sicily is known for.
Sea water dripped down my back. Nectarine juice streamed down my wrists. Halva crumbled into my lap. That was the holiday of halva, when each dive into the sea was punctuated by alternating bites of ripe stone fruit and slivers of honey and sesame paste. The holiday inspired many subsequent summers of halva and the recipe below.
I hope these recipes (and related deep-dive recommendations) may bring a little pocket of joy to your June too.