Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy's Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
Ciambotta alla Napoletana
Ciambotta, or in the vernacular Cianfotta, is a popular vegetable stew from the south of Italy. Variations abound and  every family puts its own spin on this tasty summer vegetable medley, adding or subtracting vegetables depending on their preferences and what’s on hand. Easy to make, Ciambotta is simple home cooking at its best. No fussy knife cuts required; just cut the vegetables into similar bite-sized pieces. Typically, Ciambotta is cooked in a prodigious amount of olive oil. This oil-fee version is cleaner, leaner, and more climate-friendly. While Napoletani enjoy their Cianfotta as a side dish, served hot or at room temperature, it makes a splendid entrée too, its fabulous juices mopped with a crusty artisanal whole grain bread or ladled over pasta, or even slurped up as a soup. Ciambotta is a wonderful way to use up late garden eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini. Your kitchen will fill with the sunny aromas of summer.
Prep 30 minutes            Cook 40 minutes           Serves 4 to 6
2 onions, cut in a large dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, seeds removed, cut in ½-inch strips, then cut in half
2 medium or 4 baby eggplant, cut in a large dice
1 large unpeeled yellow or red potato, cut in a large dice
4 sizable ripe tomatoes or 8 plum tomatoes, cut in a large dice
1 teaspoon dried oregano, leaves crushed 
6 to 8 grinds of black pepper
2 medium or 4 young zucchini, cut in a large dice
Small bunch of basil leaves, torn
Small bunch of parsley, leaves and stems, minced
Aka (red) miso paste, diluted with water, to taste
 
Heat a large sauté pan or skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the onions, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and stir occasionally. The onions will soften as they release their liquid and begin to brown lightly. 
Deglaze the pan with a tablespoon or two of water and scrape up the caramelized onion sugars from the pan’s bottom with a wooden spoon. Do not add more liquid, however, because the vegetables in this stew will produce a prodigious amount of liquid on their own in time.
Stir in the minced garlic, and after a minute, stir in the peppers and cover. 
After a couple of minutes, stir in the eggplant and potato, and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
Now stir in the tomatoes, oregano, crumbling any larger dried leaves with your fingers as you add it. Grind a generous amount of black pepper, stir to combine, and cover the pan.
After five minutes stir in the zucchini, recover the pan, and cook for five minutes.
Stir in the torn basil leaves and minced parsley. Cook for two more minutes, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and give a final minute or two for the herbs to permeate the dish.
If serving Ciambotta warm, prewarm the plates. Season each serving with aka miso to taste.