Caponata is an iconic Sicilian summer and early Autumn dish that is made with eggplant, tomato and olive oil in an agrodolce sauce. It is truly one of the most delicious, flavoursome Italian vegetable dishes that also happens to be vegetarian and vegan/plant based. Find out how to make an authentic Sicilian caponata from scratch! This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.
Caponata is a Sicilian dish made with eggplant, tomatoes and other vegetables in an agrodolce or sweet and sour sauce. This is also a vegan recipe that is flavour forward. On my recent trip to Sicily, we ate A LOT of caponata. No matter where we went, caponata was always reliably delicious. And today I'm sharing a recipe for my favourite caponata from our Sicilian food guide Carm. She served it at a family dinner and it was so velvety, meltingly soft and delicious. This Dear Reader is a caponata recipe straight from Sicily made by Sicilians and shared here.
Tips for making Caponata
Bright green stems
1 - Look for eggplant with bright green and firm stems on them. They should be heavy for their size.
2 - The characteristic sweet-and-sour flavor of caponata comes from the use of vinegar and sugar, a hallmark of Sicilian cuisine influenced by the Arab domination in the 9th and 10th centuries.
3 - Make sure to cut the celery and carrot into a small dice. You want to make sure that they cook through well-the celery takes a bit longer than the carrot so cut this a bit smaller than the carrot.
4 - You can replace the celery with bell peppers/capsicum or potatoes. Caponata is sometimes served with toasted pine nuts on top (although we were usually served it with just basil). And some fancier versions use seafood like octopus, prawns/shrimp or lobster.
5 - Caponata can be served hot, warm, room temperature or cold. It is delicious every way!
6 - Caponata is often served as an appetiser, side dish or as an accompaniment to seafood or fish. It's great as a buffet or pot luck dish as it is plant based, gluten free and can be served at any temperature!
7 - Caponata can also be made 1-2 days ahead of time where the flavours will develop further.
8 - Make sure to season the caponata well, it should have a lovely balance of sweet and salty.
Preparation time: 20 minutes plus 30 minutes salting time
Cooking time: 1 hour
Can be done in parts ahead of time, best made 1-2 days ahead of time
Makes 3-4 cups of caponata
1kg/2.2lbs eggplant
2-3 teaspoons fine salt
Sunflower oil for frying
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
60g/2ozs celery, small dice
60g/2ozs carrot, small dice
2 large/300g tomatoes, roughly chopped
50g/1.7ozs sultanas (can also use raisins or currants)
180g/6ozs green olives, pitted and halved
1-2 tablespoons capers
3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
65ml/2.3flozs red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to finish
Fresh basil to garnish
Step 1 - Cut eggplant into bite sized chunks (not too small). Place the eggplant into a colander over a bowl and sprinkle salt over it. Mix with your hands to distribute the salt. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant in the colander and dry the pieces well on paper towels in lots.
Step 2 - Heat a large cast iron pot or deep fryer on medium heat and add an inch of oil and heat to 170C/340F. Deep fry the eggplant in batches. The oil will drop in temperature when you add the eggplant so just be patient with each batch-you want it to be soft but not too dark. Drain on a plate lined with several paper towels. You can do this step 1-2 days beforehand, keeping it in the fridge.
Step 3 - Heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and fry the celery and carrot until the carrot starts to brown (about 5 minutes). Add the chopped tomatoes and sultanas and saute until the tomatoes break down. Add the cooked eggplant back in to the pan as well as the pitted olive halves, capers, sugar, salt, black pepper and vinegar and simmer together for 10 minutes turning gently occasionally. The vinegar should cook down to become a glossy sauce. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and stir into the caponata. Serve with fresh basil and bread.
I absolutely loved my time in Sicily but I know I will go back to Italy now that Monica is moving there and we can travel together. Despite our 10 year friendship, we actually only recently travelled together. A part of me worried if we could do it; sometimes you can be such close friends but have totally different travelling styles. Monica loves relaxing and lying on a beach while I never go to the beach or swim.
Our first and only trip together was to the Central Coast where we stayed at two different Airbnbs. The first one was fine and the second night was supposed to be a more expensive one. After checking out of the first one I caught up with a friend for a work lunch so Monica went on to check into the new place. Once I finished lunch I saw a few messages from Monica that ended with, "CALL ME".
She had checked into the new place but it was not like the pictures showed. It was almost like a different house thanks to some clever photography that focused on a few key areas. But the most hardest thing was the smell. There were around 10 bottles of reed diffusers that created a dizzying smell. Monica had aired it out for 2 hours while she sat outside waiting for me, but it still smelled incredibly strong. Before she had even received a refund she had already booked us in somewhere else. And as she was composing a final message to Airbnb a huge cockroach crawled across the mat and sealed our fate. It was not to be that place!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you travel well together with your closest friends? Have you ever stayed somewhere that just looked totally different in pictures than in reality?
Reader Comments
Loading comments...Add Comment