The Christmas Caponata is a Christmas variant of the classic caponata with eggplants, tomatoes, and much more that we prepare in summer. It is a rich, flavorful, and colorful Christmas side dish.
The caponata is a famous typical Sicilian recipe mentioned in books by Camilleri, the famous writer, author, and more, who created the wonderful character of Commissioner Montalbano.
There are about forty caponata variants, and it is very ancient, so much so that Ippolito Cavalcanti, a descendant of Dante Alighieri’s friend, described it in his cookbook dated 1837.
On the blog, I have prepared these personal caponata versions, and you can find them below, thank you, and bye!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Rest time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Winter
Ingredients
- 14 oz celery (only the heart)
- 3.5 oz salted capers
- 3.5 oz raisins
- 2 oz almonds (sliced for me)
- 20 olives
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 8 fillets anchovies in oil
- to taste sugar
- to taste white wine vinegar
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
Tools
#ADV
- Saucepans
- Baking Dishes
- Frying Pans
- Bowls
Steps
1) First, I soak the raisins in cold water for at least 10/15 minutes.
2) Remove the excess salt from the capers by rinsing them quickly and thoroughly under running water or leaving them in a small bowl for a few minutes.
3) Wash the celery, remove the strings, keep the leaves, and cut the stalks into pieces. Then boil them for 5/6 minutes in salted boiling water.
4) TIP: I put the best leaves in ice water to have them crunchy and colorful when I serve the Christmas caponata at the table!
5) I chose to use sliced almonds and deliberately did not toast them, but if you want, the recipe from “La cucina italiana” uses whole, blanched almonds and toasts them in a pan — YOUR CHOICE, DEAR FRIENDS 😊
6) In a pan, I put a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and melt the anchovy fillets, stirring with a spoon.
7) Now I add the just boiled celery pieces and let them flavor with everything, then add the olives, capers, and raisins squeezed and patted with kitchen paper.
8) At this point, season with salt, pepper, and a splash of vinegar which I then let evaporate in the pan.
9) I finish the Christmas caponata recipe by adding the almonds (sliced or whole, toasted or not toasted) and decorate with the celery leaves dried from ice water.
10) All that’s left is to bring it to the table, and bon appétit with the Christmas caponata recipe!
Annalisa
°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
BACK TO THE HOME FOR NEW AND TASTY RECIPES FROM THE BLOG La cucina di ASI
Do you like my recipes? Then follow me on INSTAGRAM and on the blog’s fan page on Facebook to not miss any recipe or special and to comment with me on the various preparations!!!
Copyright 2022© Annalisa Altini, All rights reserved.
Annalisa says…
1) If you want to turn the caponata into a preserve, you can put the obtained mixture in a jar and sterilize it well covered with water in a saucepan for about 20 minutes.
2) Let the caponata rest well covered in the refrigerator for an hour to flavor it optimally and enjoy it greatly then… bye!
