The tuna caponata with original recipe.
This is a legendary dish of the Sicilian tradition.
Every family has its own recipe that has been passed down from mother to daughter for centuries.
My caponata has an Aeolian touch, as the recipe is from my grandmother Maria, who was from Panarea.
To the classic caponata, she matched fish, tuna, or swordfish.
I have followed her dictations, but I give you the option to choose if you want a light dish, with baked instead of fried eggplants, or otherwise, for those who have no issue, frying them the old-fashioned way.
I will explain both procedures.
Below you will also find the procedure for cooking with Bimby.
These are thought for you:
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 339.96 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 9.86 (g) of which sugars 6.76 (g)
- Proteins 23.42 (g)
- Fat 20.25 (g) of which saturated 5.07 (g)of which unsaturated 4.81 (g)
- Fibers 3.67 (g)
- Sodium 226.66 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
The tuna caponata with original recipe
- 1.32 lbs tuna (fresh)
- 1.32 lbs eggplants
- 1.06 oz salted capers (desalted)
- 1 stalk celery
- 1.06 oz wild fennel (optional)
- 3.53 oz cherry tomatoes (ripe)
- 2.47 oz Tropea red onion
- 1.76 oz green olives in brine (pitted)
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sweetener (or a tablespoon of honey)
- 1.41 oz vinegar
- 2.47 oz extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
The tuna caponata with original recipe
Tools
The tuna caponata with original recipe
- Baking pan
- 1 Frying pan
- Knife
- Colander
- 3 Bowls
Preparation: The tuna caponata with original recipe
If you prefer to make them dietetic, proceed as follows: washing the eggplants, remove the stem, then make 1/2 inch slices, and cut them into cubes. Spread the eggplant cubes on the baking pan, and season only with salt. Bake them in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 355°F convection.
For those who prefer them fried: cut the eggplants into cubes or slices, sprinkle with salt, put them in a colander to drain their vegetable juices for 30 minutes.
After the time, rinse and squeeze them well with a cloth.
Pour seed oil into a pan and heat it to a high temperature, then fry the eggplants until they are golden, and let them drain in a colander.
Peel the onion and chop it, put it in a non-stick pan with the olive oil, and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the already desalted capers,
the already desalted green olives,
all this while the onion is frying, and the chopped celery, or for those who prefer, also in pieces.
Add to the sauté also a chopped wild fennel, and continue to cook for another 3 minutes, always stirring.
To see how I preserve the wild fennel click here
After these minutes, add the chopped cherry tomatoes and the tomato paste, stir and cook for 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the vinegar with the sweetener or honey (depending on whether you want a diet dish or not).
Now it’s time to add the eggplant cubes we had previously cooked to the pan.
Mix well, and deglaze with the vinegar mixture, stir and let it cook for 4 minutes.
At this point, you need to taste for salt, because the capers will have already seasoned it well, otherwise, add a little more.
Meanwhile, let’s prepare the tuna. Make sure it is freshly caught.
Have your fishmonger cut it into cubes.
Put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a non-stick pan, and heat it.
Add the fish, and brown it on all sides.
Season with salt and pepper, and cook until it turns completely white.
The caponata is now ready, and we just need to combine it with the fish, and let them cook together for 2 or 3 minutes, always stirring.
At the end of cooking, transfer it to a bowl, add lots of basil leaves, and let it cool.
Serve cold, better if the next day, here is the tuna caponata with original recipe ready.
Follow the first steps for the cooking of the eggplants, in the oven or fried according to your taste.
Peel the onion and cut it into pieces, put it in the bowl, chop for 5 sec. speed 5.
Gather with the spatula, and add 60 g of olive oil and sauté for 3 min. at 212°F speed 1
Open the bowl and add the previously desalted capers, the olives without the pit, the celery cut into slices, and also a chopped wild fennel
Cook for 3 min at 212°F reverse speed spoon.
After these minutes, add the chopped cherry tomatoes, the tomato paste, and the tuna cut into cubes, stir and cook for 5 minutes reverse 212°F speed spoon.
Now add to the bowl the eggplant cubes we had previously cooked in the oven.
and, pour the mixture of vinegar and sweetener, cook for 4 minutes. without the measuring cup at 212°F reverse speed spoon.
Taste for salt because the capers will have already seasoned it well, otherwise add a little more.
Transfer to a baking dish adding lots of basil leaves, and let it cool for at least 1 hour before serving.
This dish tastes better cold, or even better the next day.
The tuna caponata with original recipe Bimby version is ready, let’s enjoy it.
Storage and advice
The tuna caponata with original recipe. This dish can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
It should be consumed cold.
Can I change the fish?
Yes, any type of fish without bones
