Sicilian caponata, a traditional recipe with sweet-and-sour flavor, eggplants, olives, and Mediterranean aromas.
Sicilian caponata is one of those dishes that tells the story of a land and the families who pass it down.
In Sicily every town guards its own version, and often every household has little secrets that make the recipe unique: some add pine nuts, some prefer a stronger sweet-and-sour taste, others never give up a special ingredient.
I, as a Sicilian, make caponata the way it has always been made in my family, with a little secret handed down for generations: a pinch of cocoa, which gives depth to the flavor and a surprising touch. It’s my Sicilian caponata — rich, fragrant, and authentic.
I bring you my land, Sicily, with this flavorful dish. I will show the recipe both in the classic pan method and with the Thermomix (Bimby).
My caponata has an Aeolian touch, since the recipe is from my grandmother Maria, who was from Panarea. I followed her directives.
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- Cost: Very economical
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 40 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
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- 1.1 lb eggplants
- 1 onion
- as needed neutral vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups celery (only the pale stalks)
- 2/3 cup green olives in brine (I make them at home)
- 3 tbsp capers (salted) (desalted)
- to taste salt
- 2 tbsp vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar (or 2 tbsp (30 g) erythritol)
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional)
- 1 1/4 cups ripe tomatoes
- 2/3 cup tomato purée
- as needed basil
A glance at health
Tools
What we need to make it
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pan or the Thermomix (Bimby)
- 1 Cutting board
Steps
The Sicilian caponata
Let’s prepare the eggplants.
Wash the eggplants, remove the stem, then make slices about 3/8 inch (1 cm) thick, then cut them into cubes.
Place the cubes in a bowl with water and salt (about a handful), and let them rest for about 30 minutes to draw out their liquid.
After the time has passed, transfer the eggplants to a colander for 30 minutes, then rinse and squeeze well and pat dry with a dish towel.
Fry the eggplants:
Pour vegetable oil into a pan and heat to high temperature, then fry the eggplants until they are golden.
While they fry,
place them to drain in a colander.
While the eggplants lose the excess oil, continue with the recipe:
Peel the onion and cut it into large pieces, put it in a nonstick pan with the extra virgin olive oil, and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the capers, the green olives while the onion is sautéing, and the celery cut into pieces.
If you wish, you can also add a chopped wild fennel to the sauté, and continue cooking for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
After these minutes add the cherry tomatoes in pieces,
and the tomato purée, stir and cook for 3 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a bowl mix the vinegar with the cocoa and the sugar or the sweetener (depending on whether you want a diet version or not).
If you don’t want to use cocoa, mix only vinegar and sugar
Now it’s time to add the fried eggplant cubes that we prepared earlier into the pan
Stir well, let cook for another 5 minutes and then…
….and deglaze with the vinegar mixture.
Stir and let cook for 4 minutes. At this point you must taste for salt, because the capers will have already seasoned the dish well; otherwise add a little more.
Serve cold with plenty of basil, even better the next day — here is the caponata
Place the celery inside the basket and
the eggplants cut into 3/4 inch (2 cm) cubes. Set aside.
Put the extra virgin olive oil and the onion in the mixing bowl and chop: 3 sec./speed 7. Scrape down the sides with the spatula.
Season: 3 min./248°F/counterclockwise/speed 1 with the splash guard instead of the measuring cup
Add the sugar or sweetener, 1 teaspoon of salt, the olives, the capers, the vinegar, 1 teaspoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, the chopped tomatoes, the tomato purée, and the basil.
Place the basket, put the lid with the splash guard, and cook 25 min./212°F/counterclockwise/speed 1.
At the end of cooking, using the spatula remove the basket and transfer its contents to the bowl, cook without the measuring cup: 5 min./212°F/counterclockwise/speed ‘spoon’
Transfer the caponata to a serving dish and serve cold, preferably the next day.
