Yes, I know, traditional caponata is made with eggplant. But this was a good way to use the part of broccoli that is often thrown away. When I stopped at the market to buy fresh broccoli, all they had were the tops with hardly any stalk at all. I asked the produce guy where the stalks were and he said they were in the back ready to be tossed. YIKES! So I asked him to sell me just stalks. He looked at me like he thought I was crazy.

Broccoli stalk caponate ---

1 T each butter and olive oil
1/2 cup diced onion (dices should be small and uniform in size)
1/3 cup diced celery (matching onion dices in size)
1/2 T minced garlic
2 cups broccoli stalk dices (Stalks carefully peeled and then diced into about 1/2 inch cubes)
1 medium firm crisp apple (apple peeled and diced slightly smaller than broccoli)
salt & pepper to taste
2 cups apple cider

Put butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and celery, cooking until they soften but not brown. Stir in garlic, broccoli, and diced apple, coating completely with butter and olive oil. Continue to cook over medium heat until the apple begins to break down.

Add apple cider. Stir continually while cider comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for almost an hour. Stir frequently, but gently. When broccoli is very tender and the apple cider has evaporated, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

In order to abide by the rules of this project, I needed to use an ingredient listed in bold caps. The problem is there was only one on the list -- CHEESE. So I decided to put the caponata on crostini, top it with anchovies and some grated Parmagiano Reggiano.

The sweet element of the apple, the tang of the cider, and the saltiness of the anchovies & cheese were great with the mellow broccoli. I had some caponata left over, but not enough to get out the canning equipment for. So, I pureed it, added some cream and cheese and made a very nice soup.

Speaking of canning. When I make this again, I'll make a much larger batch and do just that.