Sicilian Caponata Light Recipe.
This is a legendary dish from Sicilian tradition.
Every family has its own recipe handed 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. I just gave it a diet-friendly touch by not frying the eggplants but baking them.
Then, the rest of the preparation follows my grandmother’s dictates, which even included that the capers were to be picked and preserved in salt by her, that the olives came from her trees, and that the wild fennel was to be gathered directly from the stone walls lining the island’s pathways.
Here, I take you to Panarea for a moment.
You’ll also find the procedure for cooking with Bimby below
Thought for you:
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Slow Fire
- Cuisine: Italian Regional
- Region: Sicily
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 253.91 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 15.59 (g) of which sugars 9.28 (g)
- Proteins 2.92 (g)
- Fat 15.87 (g) of which saturated 2.27 (g)of which unsaturated 0.21 (g)
- Fibers 6.14 (g)
- Sodium 650.84 (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
Let’s go shopping
- 1.3 lbs eggplants
- 1 onion
- 1 oz salted capers (well rinsed)
- 1.8 oz green olives in brine
- stalks celery
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3.5 oz tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sweetener (or 1 tablespoon of honey)
- 3 tablespoons vinegar
- 2.1 oz extra virgin olive oil
- salt
Tools
What we need
- Baking Sheet non-stick and large
- Pan
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Colander
Preparation of Sicilian Caponata Light Recipe
Start the preparation by washing the eggplants, removing the stem, then slicing them 0.4 inches thick, and cutting them into cubes.
Spread the eggplant cubes on the baking sheet, and season them only with salt.
Bake them in a preheated oven for 15 minutes at 356°F with fan. Meanwhile…
Peel the onion and chop it, place it in a non-stick pan with the olive oil, and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the desalted capers
the desalted green olives, all while the onion is sautéing, and..
The chopped celery, or for those who prefer, even in pieces.
Add a wild fennel mince to the sauté, and continue cooking for another 3 minutes while stirring.
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.
Now it’s time to add the eggplant cubes that we had previously cooked in the oven to the pan.
Mix well, and…
deglaze with the vinegar and sweetener mixture, stir and let cook for 4 minutes.
At this point, you need to taste for salt, because the capers will have already flavored the dish well. Otherwise, add a little more salt,
Let it cool for at least an hour before serving.
This dish is better enjoyed cold, or even better the next day.
Here is the Sicilian Caponata Light Recipe
Follow the first 3 steps of the traditional recipe, then..
Peel the onion and cut it into pieces, put it in the mixing bowl, chop for 5 sec. speed 5.
Then gather with the spatula.
Add 2.1 oz of extra virgin olive oil and sauté for 3 min. at 212°F speed 1
After the time has passed, open the bowl and add the previously desalted capers, the pitted olives, the celery cut into rounds, and also a wild fennel mince.
Cook for 3 min at 212°F, spoon speed.
After these minutes, add the chopped cherry tomatoes, and the tomato paste, stir and cook for 3 minutes at 212°F, spoon speed.
Now it’s time to add the previously oven-baked eggplant cubes to the mixing bowl.
and…
deglaze with the vinegar and sweetener mixture, cook for 4 minutes without the measuring cup at 212°F, spoon speed.
At this point, you need to taste for salt, because the capers will have already flavored the dish well. Otherwise, add a little more salt.
Let it cool in a baking dish, at least an hour before serving.
This dish is better enjoyed cold, or even better the next day.
Here is the Sicilian Caponata Light Recipe Bimby Tm6 version
Storage
Sicilian Caponata Light Recipe.
This dish can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
if you liked this recipe, give me a like and follow on social media
Facebook group RitaAmordicucina
Subscribe to my YouTube channel RitaAmordicucina
Sicilian Caponata Light Recipe
Can I omit the fennel if I can’t find it?
Yes, certainly.

