Caponata Siciliana

Caponata is a classic dish from Sicily, packed with aubergine, celery, onion, tomato and a distinctive sweet-and-sour note from vinegar and sugar. Serve this vegetable dish lukewarm or at room temperature as a side dish, starter or on a thick slice of bread.

Serves: 4
Preparation: approx. 20 minutes
Cooking: approx. 40 minutes
Total time: approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 medium aubergines
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 onion
• 4 vine tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 50 g green or black olives
• 1 tablespoon demerara sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2–3 tablespoons raisins
• 6–8 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra virgin)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

• Cut the aubergines into 1–2 cm dice. Lightly sprinkle with salt and leave to drain in a colander for 15 minutes. Then pat dry with kitchen paper.
• Slice the onion into half rings.
• Slice the celery into thin crescents.
• Stone and halve the olives if they are still whole.
• Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the watery core and dice the remaining flesh.

Cooking

1. Heat about 3–4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat.
2. Fry the aubergine dice, preferably in batches, briefly until lightly golden all over. Only add an extra small splash of oil if the pan really threatens to dry out. The dice do not need to be fully cooked yet; they will cook further later in the sauce. Drain the fried aubergine on kitchen paper.
3. If needed, add a little more olive oil to the same pan. Gently sweat the onion and celery over a low to medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the diced tomatoes and let everything simmer gently for about 10 minutes, until the tomato starts to break down.
5. Then add the capers, olives and the fried aubergine. Sprinkle over the demerara sugar and pour in the red wine vinegar. Stir well.
6. Let the caponata bubble gently for a further 10–15 minutes, so the flavours can mingle and the aubergine becomes completely tender. Taste and adjust the sweet-and-sour balance if needed with a little extra sugar or vinegar.
7. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over a low heat until lightly golden. Let them cool briefly.
8. Towards the end of the cooking time, add the toasted pine nuts and the raisins. Stir briefly and remove the pan from the heat.
9. Season with freshly ground black pepper and, if needed, extra salt.
10. Let the caponata rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably a few hours, so the flavours can fully develop. Serve at room temperature: as a starter with a piece of crusty bread, as part of an antipasti platter, or as a side dish with grilled fish or meat.
11. Caponata is often even more flavoursome the next day. Store covered in the fridge and bring back to room temperature before serving.