sicilian caponata

Sicilian caponata is a tasty salad or relish made of eggplant with onions, celery, and tomatoes and augmented with tangy olives and capers. It&#039;s best the next day, so try to make it ahead and store it in the fridge in a tight-lid mason jar. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

Caponata Recipe

eggplant (1 ¼ lb

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

onion

red bell pepper

celery (thinly sliced)

Black pepper

tomatoes

capers

green olives (roughly chopped)

raisins

honey (more

bay leaf

¼ tsp to ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

red wine vinegar

dry white wine

parsley

mint

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Season the eggplant cubes with salt (if you have the time, set it aside in a colander to sweat out its bitterness for about 20 or 30 minutes, while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Pat dry with paper towel).

Place the seasoned eggplant cubes on a sheet pan, add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (about 3 tablespoons or so) and toss to coat. Roast the eggplant in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned.

Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, bell pepper, and celery. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, tossing regularly until softened.

Add the tomatoes, capers, olives, raisins, honey, bay leaf and crushed pepper flakes. Pour in the vinegar and white wine. Stir to combine. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Stir in the roasted eggplant and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes in the sauce. Finish with fresh parsley and mint.

Caponata is a traditional Sicilian dish that has been enjoyed for centuries.This delicious and hearty vegetable stew is made with eggplant, tomatoes, onions, celery, capers, olives, and vinegar, all cooked together until they form a flavorful and aromatic dish.These ingredients, already common in other typical Sicilian recipes - such as Pasta alla Norma and Eggplant Parmigiana for example- create a mix of aromas, colors and flavors that recall the suggestions of this beautiful island.

Classic Sicilian Caponata Recipe

eggplants (large)

celery

100 g capers (¾ cup, salted)

200 g olives (1 cup, green and pitted)

pine nuts (3 tablespoons)

ml tomato passata (⅔ cup)

olive oil (extra virgin)

ml white wine vinegar (¼ cup)

sugar

vegetable oil (for frying,

salt

salt (to taste)

black pepper (to taste)

First, get all the ingredients ready. Cut the eggplants into small cubes and place them in a colander.

sprinkle

Sprinkle them with the coarse salt and let them drain for at least 30 minutes. In this way the eggplants lose their water, which gives them a slightly bitter taste.

slice

dice

Dice the celery and place in a saucepan of boiling water (with ½ teaspoon of fine salt) and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

wash

Desalt the capers. Wash them in cold water to remove the salt, dry and set aside.

toast

Toast the pine nuts in a frying pan for 1 or 2 minute.

Make the sweet and sour sauce. Mix the vinegar and sugar in a bowl and set aside.

rinse

Now it's time to fry the eggplants. First rinse them with plenty of cold water. Then dry them with a kitchen towel.

Heat the oil in a frying pan with a high side, add a few eggplants at a time and fry for a few minutes.

drain

When golden brown, drain with a skimmer and place on a tray lined with absorbent paper to remove excess oil, then set aside.

sauté

Pour the extra virgin olive oil into a large saucepan. Heat it and add the onion. Sauté until the onion is soft and golden, then add the celery and capers. Stir and cook over medium heat for a few minutes.

Add the olives and pine nuts. Finally add the tomato passata.

stir

Stir, cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

After this time, add a pinch of salt (if necessary, just taste it!) and then the sweet and sour sauce.

cook

Increase the heat to medium, stir and cook until the vinegar scent has evaporated (about 2 or 3 minutes).

Turn off the heat and add the fried eggplants.

serve

Mix well. Place the caponata in an baking pan and leave to cool at room temperature (or in the refrigerator). The peculiarity of caponata is that it must be served COLD. Even better if you make it the day before and eat it the next day!

If my local supermarket has capers in stock, am going to do this tomorrow!

Recipe sounds delicious!  I love Caponata and I didn't know how to make it.  I will try this over the weekend!

Top 2 sicilian caponata recipes from across the web

The most viewed sicilian caponata recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Caponata Recipe

Classic Sicilian Caponata Recipe

Top 2 sicilian caponata recipes from across the web

The most viewed sicilian caponata recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Caponata Recipe

Classic Sicilian Caponata Recipe

The most viewed sicilian caponata recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine