Kim Dannies: Lifestyle & Adventure writing

The Legend of Skippy
August 24, 2006

One lucky summer I lived on beautiful Martha's Vineyard for six months. I waitressed at a restaurant called " The Ocean View" where the view was more of the liquor store than the ocean, but it had a quirky sort of character– just like the local folks I waited on and worked with. The most memorable of them was our prep cook, Skippy, a scarecrow of a man whose appetite for rum and slander would make Mel Gibson blush. I was terrified of Skippy at first– his idea of good fun was to scream like a banshee when our food orders were ready. But over time, I learned that behind Skippy’s gruff façade lived a man with a heart as sweet as a ripe tomato who loved food passionately.

Skippy taught me to make Componata (com–po–na–da). It's like ratatouille but more distinctively Italian. Loaded with tomatoes, eggplant, onions, capers and celery, it is the embodiment of summer's harvest. A simple bite of Componata can melt time and reunite me with my beloved Vineyard. That is the power of food.

Skippy showed me tricks, too, like what happens to a dish when vinegar and sugar come together with tomatoes to make magic. He taught me that fresh vegetables in August don’t need much help to make them sing, and he introduced me to capers: pickled flower buds packed with a briny burst of flavor. But mostly Skippy taught me that there is all kinds of beauty on an island– the views– sure, but also a kind of beauty that lives just below the surface of things.

Martha's Vineyard Componata

Slice 4 stalks of celery into quarter inch cuts and slice 3 medium sweet onions into thin rings. Heat a stockpot with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the vegetables for 10 minutes. Add 3 finely chopped garlic cloves and sauté 1 minute more. Add 6 chopped Roma tomatoes, with seeds and juices, plus one 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes.
Stir together one half cup red wine vinegar and one fourth cup sugar.
Slice 2 cups of pitted black olives. Add olives, along with 4 tablespoons of capers and the vinegar mixture. Stir; cover and simmer for 10 minutes, then turn off heat.
Cut two medium eggplants into half–inch cubes (skin remains on.) Heat a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan. Sauté the eggplant in batches until golden on all sides, drizzling in more olive oil as needed up to a half cup. The eggplant will suck up the oil, so use sparingly. Add eggplant to stockpot as you go.
Combine mixture and let it set for a couple of hours. Serve hot or cold as a first or main course. Top with fresh basil and feta. Serves 10–12; freezes well.