Sicilian Stir Fry

I was craving some stir fry yesterday. The thought of a nice dark sesame beef and broccoli stir fry made me happy. However, it is over 100 degrees out (again and again and again) and no sight of fresh broccoli to be found anywhere. Thus I thought of the recipe for Sicilian Stir Fry--a recipe using lots of summer vegetables and not as heavy as a dark sesame sauce.

Like many stir-fry's, you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Add green beans or asparagus if you have want more green. Just have 5 - 6 c of raw vegetables to put in. I didn't have the celery or fennel and left that out. I can just imagine that ingredient would have made everything even more tasty. The combination of ingredients reminds me a little of caponata.

We all enjoyed it. Curtis and I ate all the veggies. J and M didn't eat the eggplant, onions, or peppers, but they did eat the tomatoes, squash, and mushrooms. It's pretty quick and easy summer meal. The most time intensive part was chopping the vegetables, the rest went quickly. I had all my ingredients in little bowls before hand so when I started cooking, I could be like a TV food show host---just dumping little bowls of food into the skillet. I think cooking is so much more fun that way!

Sicilian Stir-Fry
adapted from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

1 T olive oil
1 c sliced onions
1/2 c celery or fennel, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c sliced mushrooms
1 c sliced zucchini or summer squash
1/2 c sliced bell peppers
1 c diced eggplant
1/2 t fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 t salt
2 T dry red wine
1 c fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 T fresh basil, chopped
1 T capers
1/2 lb chunky pasta such as farfalle

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet on med-high heat. Add onions and cook 2 - 3 minutes. Add celery, garlic, and eggplant and stir-fry for 4 minutes (but do not brown). Add mushrooms, zucchini, bell peppers, rosemary and salt and continue to stir-fry 2 -3 minutes. Stir in red wine, tomatoes, basil, and capers. Continue to stir fry another couple of minutes until every things hot and vegetables have released their juices. Serve over hot pasta and top with grated Parmesan if desired.