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Let’s celebrate the begin of the eggplant season with Caponata.
Caponata is a sweet and sour dish, where fried eggplants dance in an oniony tomato sauce and capers, green olives, and pine nuts complement it without overpowering.
In my house growing up, we called it Caponatina (small caponata). A nice nickname name for a dish that I can’t stop eating (and from now on neither you, I bet) all the summer long.
The root of the name Caponata is Spanish and comes from the Capone fish. In the past, only aristocratic Sicilian families could afford this fish, and their chefs cooked it with a sweet and sour sauce. Here is the genius of not aristocratic Sicilians: they substituted the fancy fish with eggplants, and Caponata is born!
(Food culture note: Muslims brought eggplants in Sicily, along with lemons, oranges, and pistachios, can you believe it?)
Facciamo una bella caponatina!
Secret trick (1): I will never get tired to say that this dish gives its best the day after. The flavor improves over time, so be patient. (Honestly, I really prefer dishes that I can cook the day before so I have more time to set the table, etc.)
Ingredients:
These ingredients are for 4 people (but I won’t judge if you want to eat it all alone…I do!)
- 4 medium eggplant (about 2lbs/1kg) cut in cubes (1.2 inches, max 2)
- 1 small celery stalk minced (note: I don’t usually add celery in my Caponatina as…I cannot digest celery).
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced lengthwise (if you can’t digest onion, let the slices soak in cold water for as long as you can, at least 10 mins)
- 6 oz of pitted green olives
- 1/4 cup of capers, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup of tomato paste (a common ingredient in Sicilian cuisine)
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (white wine vinegar works well) mixed with 2 tbsp of honey (you can swap it for sugar)
- a handful of Passoline e Pinoli, a mix made by tiny sweet raisins and pine nuts widely used in Sicilian recipes. I make my own mixing with the Trader’s Joe’s golden raisins and pine nuts.
- a handful of basil leaves
- peanut oil for frying (or any oil for frying with a neutral taste)
- 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil for the mixture of onion, celery, etc
Directions:
When is eggplants season (Summer) you can skip this step, otherwise: put the eggplants cubes in a colander with salt, toss and let stand for 30 minutes covered with a heavyweight. This step will help to eliminate the bitter water and to absorb less oil. Rinse and dry the eggplants thoroughly (remember that water in hot oil will spatter! I learned the lesson…).
In a medium skillet (I like making small batches) warm the frying oil. To see if the oil is ready: add one small cube, if it starts bubbling it’s the right temperature. If not, take off the piece from the pan and try later with a new one. But don’t let it sit in the pan as it will soak up in oil. Be generous with the oil, you need floating eggplants to get a nice crispy and dry result. Start with a small batch of eggplants, wait until golden brown, then transfer to a paper towel to drain and fry another batch until you finish.
While you fry the eggplants, boil the celery just a few minutes, to soften it (you can also use the microwave if you want)
In a skillet with 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, put the softened celery and onion. Let cook until soft, then stir in olives and capers and keep going for a couple of minutes. Next, add the tomato paste and stir well. Sprinkle with passolina and pinoli, pour in the vinegar with honey and cook until the vinegar evaporates (2 or 3 minutes).
When ready add the fried eggplants and the basil leaves to the mixture, switch off the heat and season with salt and pepper if needed.
You can eat it (remember: the day after!) as an appetizer, or side dish, or you can make bruschetta with caponata on top.
Secret trick (2): if you already made this recipe ten times and you want to go further, add half a cup of roasted almonds slivers on top of your Caponatina.
Super secret trick (3): if you feel really adventurous and open to new flavor combinations or you want to impress your family and friends, add some dark chocolate chunks or grated. Just wait until the eggplants are room temperature, or the chocolate will melt. Very old Caponata recipes (Palermo version) had cocoa or dark chocolate in it. I learned it from my Zia Liliana, my food- guru, my style icon, and the best cook in the world. Tiè.
NOTE: if you are not in the mood for frying, try my one-pot oven baked Caponata!
