Caponata

Caponata is a Sicilian antipasto vegetarian dish, based on aubergine = eggplant.

Ingredients

• 1 large aubergine
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 sticks of celery
• About 20 green olives, pitted
• 1 big TBSP of capers
• 2 tbsp of tomato paste
• 2 tbsp of vinegar
• 3 tsp of sugar
• Some olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Handful (50 g) of pine nuts (optional)
• Handful (50 g) of blond raisins (optional)
• Cilantro (= flat-leaf parsley, coriander leaves) (optional)

Preparation

1. Cut the aubergine in 1 cm cubes (leave the skin)
2. Fry the aubergine in a large frying pan, in a bit of olive oil, until slightly brown
3. Put aside the aubergine, then add more olive oil and fry the onion and garlic thinly sliced, until translucid
4. Add the celery branches cut in small bits, fry for another 2 minutes
5. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the pine nuts), and the aubergines
6. Add a bit of water, and cook for 15 minutes at low heat
7. Add a bit of water now and then if it’s becoming too dry, stir regularly
8. Remove from heat, add pine nuts if you have, and let cool down to room temperature before serving

Notes

There are many variants of caponata:

• You can add a red pepper cut in tiny bits in step 3.5.
• You can use diced fresh tomatoes instead of tomato paste in step 5, then no water is needed.
• Capunatina uses anchovies and capers.