Sicilian Caponata Recipe: A Flavourful Vegetable Medley

Caponata is often served as a side dish, an accompaniment to a fish meal. It’s also sometimes used as an appetizer. However, this hasn’t always been the case.
The original and authentic Sicilian caponata recipe was served in the 18th century as a main course. It’s believed the dish arrived in Italy via Muslim traders. The Italians did what they always do, took the dish and made it their own. Originally, it was simply defined as a dish that included various things. This graduated into a dish of fish, aubergines, artichokes, capers, and olives.
Over time, this aristocratic dish was altered, allowing the poor to make their own authentic Sicilian caponata recipe. At this stage, it became known as the food for the poor and consisted largely of cubes of fried aubergines with capers and green olives in a sweet and sour sauce. Today, the poor version has become an exceptionally popular dish across the globe. A traditional Sicilian caponata recipe is full of flavour. There are now many variants, ensuring this delightful side dish can accompany almost any meal.

Sicilian Caponata Ingredients

Although there are many variants of Sicilian caponata recipes, this is the base recipe for Sicilian caponata. It’s fair to say all other recipes are based on this one.

Ingredients:
● Eggplant
● Red onion
● Celery
● Tomato puree or, better still, genuine Sicilian mashed tomato
● Capers – preferably in sea salt
● Pitted olives
● Brown sugar
● White wine vinegar
● Olive oil
● Salt and pepper
Optional extras:
● Toasted pine nuts
● Roasted almonds
● Cocoa powder
● raisins

To create Sicilian caponata you’ll need to soak the capers for at least two hours in a bowl of water. You’ll then need to dice the eggplant into cubes and season them with a little salt. It’s best to leave these absorbing the salt for between one and three hours. You’ll then be able to saute your red onion with olive oil and salt before adding the tomato puree of fresh mashed tomatoes. Separately, you need to rinse and then dry your eggplant cubes, removing all exterior traces of
salt. These can then be fried in olive oil until they turn a beautiful golden color. Your celery needs to be chopped, boiled, then dried.
Finally, you can crush the olives into your tomato mix and add the eggplant and celery, along with the capers. When all the ingredients are together sauté for another 10 minutes. This is when you can add the extras if you want a richer flavor.
You should note that while many Sicilian caponata recipes include richer ingredients, this is less traditional.
Once it’s cooked, your caponata isn’t ready! It won’t taste right unless you put it in the refrigerator for approximately 12 hours. Overnight is generally enough time.
Half an hour before you want to serve your caponata, take it out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature. This will bring all the flavors out and ensure it’s the perfect accompaniment for your meal.

Summing Up

The recipe for Sicilian caponata is complicated. In fact, all Sicilian caponata recipes take a considerable amount of time to prepare. It’s not something you can create on a whim. Of course, the effort is worthwhile, it’s a delicious accompaniment. The good news is you don’t need to find the time to do all this. You can get the authentic Sicilian Caponata recipe from where it originates.

We’ll supply it ready-made, all you have to do is enjoy it.