Caponata, a vegetarian recipe from Italy

Name: Caponata
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italy
Ingredients: 2 large aubergines (800 g), cut into 3 cm cubes; 3 celery sticks, cut into short lengths; 1 large onion, sliced; 400 g chopped tomatoes; 100 g pitted green olives; 2 tbsp capers, rinsed; 3 tbsp red wine vinegar; 1½ tbsp sugar; 120 ml olive oil; 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts; A few basil leaves; Salt and black pepper

Method

Salt the aubergine cubes and leave them in a colander for 20 minutes, then pat dry.
Fry the aubergine in batches in 80 ml of hot oil until golden on all sides. Drain on kitchen paper.
Blanch the celery in boiling water for 3 minutes and drain.
In the same pan with the remaining oil, soften the onion for 8 minutes. Add the celery, tomatoes, olives and capers and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir the vinegar and sugar together, pour into the pan and let it bubble for 3 minutes so the sharpness mellows.
Gently fold in the aubergine, season, and cook for 5 more minutes over low heat.
Cool completely, then scatter with pine nuts and basil and serve at room temperature.

Caponata is best made the day before, when the sweet-and-sour flavours have had a night to soak into the aubergine. Serve with toasted bread if you are not avoiding gluten.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

Frequently asked questions

How do I stop the aubergines soaking up all the oil?

The twenty-minute salting is the first defence, provided you really blot the cubes afterwards. The second is temperature: properly hot oil and small batches, since cubes dropped into lukewarm oil drink everything. You can also roast them at 220°C with just two spoonfuls of oil.

Is the celery really necessary?

It is one of the markers of Sicilian caponata, and above all the only texture that stays crunchy in an otherwise soft dish. The three-minute blanching removes its bitterness and strings without softening it. Leave it out and you have a good aubergine stew, but the play of textures is gone.

How do I adjust the sweet-and-sour balance?

Always taste it cold, never hot: vinegar tastes far more aggressive in a steaming pan than it does once the dish has cooled and rested. If after a night it still seems sharp, half a spoonful of sugar is enough; if it is too sweet, a few drops of vinegar restore the balance.

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Caponata

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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