Caponata

Photo by This Italian Kitchen

Cos'è questo? What is this?
1. It's delicious. 
2. It's easy to make. 
3. It became my obsession during our honeymoon in Southern Italy this summer! My husband and I first ventured to Naples for pizza (of course) and then to Capri. After Capri, we flew to Sicily and headed to our agriturismo out in the countryside.

By recommendation of our host, we tried the farmhouse antipasti spread which included this saucy, savory and sweetly stewed dish called Caponata. I have NEVER encountered it before and I certainly didn't want this time to the best the last! For the rest of our time in Sicily, besides hunting down the best cannoli and granita we could find every day, I was on the hunt for more of this dish! 

As soon as we got home to Los Angeles, we tracked down some recipes to try and recreate it. We've gotten *very* close to what we tasted in Sicily and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did. 

---

Caponata

---

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalk from the inner center of the celery, chopped 
• ½ cup chopped, pitted green olives, Castelvetrano are the best (and Sicilian) if you can get them!
• 1+ tablespoon capers (I love capers so do more, like me, if you want) 
• 1-2 large tomato, chopped. Heirlooms are great if they're in season!
• 3-4 tablespoons red wine vinegar, to taste
• ​1 tablespoon double concentrated tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Recipe:

1. Chop your eggplant into 1" pieces while your oven preheats to 400°. Toss eggplant with 4 Tbsp. oil on a baking sheet and season generously with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast the pieces, flipping and scraping the pieces off the bottom of the pan 1-2 times through cooking, until golden brown and tender, about 25–30 minutes.
2. While the eggplant is roasting, heat remaining 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add in the chopped onion, celery, tomato paste, olives, and capers, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 12–15 minutes. Season with more salt and pepper.
3. Add in vinegar (to taste), sugar, and ½ cup water. I lean toward more vinegar and sugar since a lot of restaurants have their caponata almost pickled and preserved! Every restaurant we went to had their own twist and flavors. 
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add roasted eggplant and stir to coat. It's okay if the eggplant breaks down into the mixture. It should almost be a spread that you could eat on toasted bread.
   
5. Let cool if you'd like or serve warm! Top with additional capers and even basil if you have it. This tastes great on it's own but would also be good with pasta. FYI leftovers taste great on toasted bread as an appetizer!