Place a 3-4 quart lidded saucepan on the lowest flame. Stir together the tomato paste, sugar, and vinegar.

Place a 12-inch stainless steel skillet  (not cast iron or aluminum) on medium heat. Add one tablespoon olive oil from the 1/2 cup measure. Sauté the celery, stirring, for a few minutes, until it softens and colors just bit. Add it to the tomato-vinegar mixture.

Add more olive oil to the pan if necessary, then add the onions. Cook, but don’t fry them. You want them to soften and become translucent. Cook for about 4 minutes. A little bit of color is okay. If they begin browning and crisping up, turn the heat down. Add them to the tomato-vinegar-celery mixture. Salt it lightly, stir, and turn the heat off. Cover.

Turn heat off under skillet.

Turn to the artichokes:

In terms of prep for this recipe, they do not need to be acidulated, that is, rubbed with lemon, because the cooking will take care of any darkening. They will darken, and start looking gungy. Don’t worry.

To prep:

–break off the outside rough leaves until you reach the inner, pale green leaves. You’ll notice the artichoke tapering to a tip. Slice the top portion of the cone off, about halfway down.

–using a paring knife or vegetable peeler, pare the stem and cone of small leaves and hard bits.

–depending on size, slice artichoke in half or quarters.  If there’s a fuzzy choke surrounded by sharp leaves, pry out using a melon baller or sharp spoon, like an iced tea spoon. Leave the “meaty” part–that’s the heart, a delicacy. The stems are an extension of the heart, edible and delicious.

Once the artichokes are all peeled, add a little more olive oil to the skillet if necessary; you want about two tablespoons in there. Turn the heat to medium. Add the artichokes. Stir them in the oil, then allow them to take color a few minutes. Turn them, and let them take color again. I do this a couple times.

Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook artichokes for another 5 minutes.

Add artichokes to tomato-vegetable mixture. Stir over medium heat. Taste for salt and sugar, remembering you are about to add capers. Mixture will be very dry; add a little water if it’s too dry.

Stir with a wooden spoon until caponata reaches a gentle bubble.  Add the capers, cover, and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook gently, until artichokes are cooked through. They should be tender enough to cut with a wooden spoon. Depending on the size of your artichokes, this can take 30 minutes to an hour.

The artichokes may taste quite acidic right out of the pot. They will mellow after 2-5 days.

Store in a covered, refrigerated container 2-5 days.  Serve as an antipasto with cured meats, olives, radishes, and cheeses, or eat it as I do, in a sandwich with ricotta cheese.

This will keep well due to vinegar content, but is best within 7 days.

Notes:

The original recipe calls for up to 2 tablespoons sugar. Add to taste.