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You are here: Home / Recipes / Appetisers / CAPONATA

CAPONATA

March 30, 2012 By Manu 17 Comments

Caponata

After sharing with you the recipe for cabbuci, today I am back with the second part of my Italian Regional dish series.  We are back in Sicily and I am going to show you how to make one of the most popular dishes of the island: caponata.  It could be described as a cooked salad made up of fried eggplant and other ingredients.  It is a sweet and sour dish and it is the perfect side for fish dishes or a great appetiser if served with warm cabbuci.  It is usually eaten in summer and it is best served at room temperature or even cold.  I have read on the web that the origin of the name caponata is not completely known.  Some think it derives from the term “caupone” (tavern), others reckon that it comes from the local name of the fish capone (also known as mahi mahi or dorado).  I am more inclined towards this option as capone is often served with the same sauce of caponata (sans eggplant).  Anyhow… we all love it!  This is my mum’s recipe and she makes the best caponata I have ever eaten.  It is one of her signature dishes!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

Ingredients:
5 (or 4 big) eggplants
15 green olives, pitted and halved
2 tbsp capers, rinsed
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
140 gms – 5 oz. concentrated tomato paste
2 big onions, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
150 ml – 5 oz. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar

Cut the aubergines in cubes (3×3 cm – 1.2×1.2 inches) and put them in a bowl with cold salty water for half an hour (1). Then, pat them dry (2) and deep fry them in hot vegetable oil (3).  When ready, put them in a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain the excess oil.

Blanch the chopped celery in salty boiling water.

Chop the onion, put it in a frying pan and cover it with 1/2 glass of water (1) and cook it until the water dries up (2).  Then add 3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil (3) and sauté the onions in it for a minute or 2 (4).  Add the tomato concentrate (5), capers, olives and blanched celery with a little of its reserved cooking water and cook the sauce for 5 minutes (6).

Add the fried eggplant cubes and mix gently (1-2-3). Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar and add it to the caponata (4). Cook it for a few minutes on a medium-high flame, then put the fire off and let it cool down.

It is best eaten at room temperature or cold, and it tastes even better after a day or two.  Enjoy with some warm cabbuci!

Caponata

It is the end of the month again!  Which means it is time to check out the great round up that Nancy from Spicie Foodie has put together of some of the best recipes from the blogosphere!  Check out Your Best Recipe of March!  I am contributing my Zucchini Flower and Saffron Risotto in a Parmigiano Reggiano basket to it!  Have fun!

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  • Lightened-up Eggplant Caponata

Filed Under: Appetisers, Italian, Regional Italian Dishes, Salads, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian Tagged With: capers, caponata, eggplants, fried, Italian, Italy, olives, salad, Sicilian, Sicily, side dish, summer, sweet and sour, sweet and sour sauce, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, vinegar

« CABBUCI
BLUE PERSIAN SALT CARAMEL SAUCE »

Comments

  1. Medeja says

    March 30, 2012 at 8:48 pm

    I can imagine it tastes great! Eggplant is really special vegetable, you have to know how to prepare to make it taste good 🙂

    Reply
  2. Katherine Martinelli says

    March 31, 2012 at 1:23 am

    I love caponata and yours looks like perfection to me! What a great eggplant recipe.

    Reply
  3. Helene Dsouza I Masala Herb says

    March 31, 2012 at 2:06 am

    Hi Manu!

    I think so i am going to make your caponata tomorrow if I get some olives from the shop (hope so). sounds simple and nice and perfect for the heat. light and easy. thank u!

    Reply
  4. PolaM says

    March 31, 2012 at 3:00 am

    Caponata is one of my favorite dishes!

    Reply
  5. Paolo @ DisgracesOnTheMenu says

    March 31, 2012 at 3:30 am

    Thanks Manu for your Italian regional dishes series! Another fantastic recipe to celebrate the diverse cuisine of Italy’s regions, perfectly represented by your amazing talent!

    Reply
  6. Tina (PinayInTexas) says

    March 31, 2012 at 5:10 am

    This is all new to me but I love eggplant so this would be a wonderful recipe for me to try!
    Enjoy your weekend, Manu!

    Reply
  7. Marsha @ The Harried Cook says

    March 31, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    What a gorgeous dish… my husband and I both love eggplant, and I don’t have too many recipes for it! So happy to add this one to my collection 🙂 Lovely! Thanks, Manu!

    Reply
  8. amelia from z tasty life says

    March 31, 2012 at 7:30 pm

    Manu: questa serie regionale e’ veramente fantastica. La caponata e’ uno dei miei piatti preferiti in assoluto.

    Reply
  9. [email protected] says

    April 1, 2012 at 6:45 pm

    I love caponata. I havent made it with eggplant alone though looks great

    Reply
  10. Nuts about food says

    April 4, 2012 at 8:53 pm

    I never was a fan of caponata until I started eating my mother in law’s. So I guess I thought I wasn’t a fan but actually love it!

    Reply
  11. mvo says

    April 6, 2012 at 7:42 pm

    This recipe looks interesting and I would like to try it, however
    eggplants always absorb so much oil – could I brush the cubes
    with olive oil and bake them instead and how long do you think
    I should bake them for? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Manu says

      April 6, 2012 at 7:50 pm

      Hi you can try but the taste won’t be the same (even though it will still be yummy). Bake them until just soft… don’t overbake them or they will fall apart when you mix them with the sauce. Let me know how it comes out!!

      Reply
  12. Janessa says

    July 13, 2019 at 5:00 pm

    Thanks for the excellent post

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. To cook list February-part 1 | Flexavegan says:
    February 13, 2013 at 9:50 am

    […] Keepinitkind.com Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Olives, Parsley and Orange from userealbutter.com Caponata with Eggplant, Olives, and Capers from manusmenu.com Minty Pea and Potato Soup from BBCgoodfood.co.uk Potato and Eggplant Curry from […]

    Reply
  2. Mahi Mahi with Caponata Sauce says:
    May 9, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    […] is called capone and it was originally the main ingredient of one of Sicily’s most famous dishes: caponata.  Not everybody knows this, but what we now know as caponata used to be made with fish and eaten […]

    Reply
  3. Pasticceria Peralta – San Vito Lo Capo says:
    March 2, 2016 at 7:18 pm

    […] Almond Milk Bruschetta with Matarocco Olive Schiacciate Caponata Cabbuci Sweet and Sour Pumpkin Eggplant […]

    Reply
  4. Lightened-up Eggplant Caponata says:
    June 4, 2018 at 6:10 pm

    […] sharing with you the recipe for traditional Eggplant Caponata, today I am back with an healthier and quicker version of this Sicilian summer classic: […]

    Reply

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Hi! I am Manu, the author of Manu's Menu. I was born and brought up in Italy and my blog can show you how to create authentic Italian food in your own home! Read More…

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