Sicilian Vegetable Caponata Recipe With Eggplants

This vegetable Caponata is a traditional Sicilia dish, made with all produce grown locally: red peppers, Italian eggplants, celery, capers, basil, nuts, and raisins. This sweet and sour vegetable stew is served as an appetizer on bruschetta or as a side dish for grilled meat or as a vegetarian dish. It is easy to make and best if made ahead of time. The eggplants absorb all the flavors and the Caponata will taste even better the following days.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• How to serve it
• Top tips
• Origin of this recipe
• Recipes with eggplants you might also like
• 📋Sicilian Vegetable Caponata Recipe With Eggplants

The traditional eggplant caponata recipe is the Sicilian version of the French ratatouille made with all local Sicilian produce: eggplants, peppers, celery, capers, nuts, raisins, olives, basil, and tomato sauce.

The eggplants and the peppers are fried, then mixed in a sweet and sour sauce (salsa in agrodolce) and all the other ingredients.

It is very common in Sicily to have sweet and sour dishes.

Sweet and sour is typical of China but it was introduced in Europe by the Arabs. The Arabs invaded Sicily after the fall of the Roman Empire, introducing nuts, citrus, and sugar cane into the regional cuisine.

You often find raisins in savory Sicilian recipes, which is not as common in other Italian regions.

To find out more you can read the article: Traditional Italian Cuisine by Region

The name Caponata comes from the name Capone, a delicate fish (similar to mahi-mahi) with very dry meat, which was served with a sweet and sour sauce.

For more Sicilian eggplant recipes, you can check: Baked pasta anelletti, no-fry eggplant parmigiana, Pasta alla Norma, and pasta with swordfish ragu

Ingredients

Vegetables:

• eggplants: buy small thin eggplants as the large ones have too many seeds
• red peppers: you can also use a mix of red, green, and yellow peppers to create a rainbow color
• pitted black olives: I use Sicilian black olives. You can also use Greek or green olives
• onion: red or regular onion will do
• A stalk of celery: I use the external stalks to make stock and use the inside ones for this dish as they are more tender
• Tomato sauce: I either use my homemade tomato sauce or Mutti

Herbs and nuts:

• raisin: either black or golden
• pine nuts: best to use regular pine nuts, but if you cannot find them, you can use cashews.
• Almonds: you can either use peeled whole or shredded almonds
• Capers: if you can find them, buy capers stored under salt and rinse them to use them. I am skeptical about capers stored in olive oil as you never know what quality of olive oil they are using and if they have added vinegar

Seasoning:

• Red wine vinegar: you can also use white vinegar but do not use Balsamic vinegar as it will be too sweet. Balsamic vinegar is not an ingredient used in Sicilian cuisine as it originates from the North of Italy, Modena. Real Balsamic vinegar is very expensive as it has to mature for 15 to 20 years. The one you find at the supermarket is not real Balsamic vinegar but red vinegar with sugar. You may as well stick to the traditional recipe and save your money to buy a proper Balsamic vinegar and use it on a salad. If you still want to use Balsamic vinegar, do not add sugar.
• sugar
• fresh basil leaves
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

Fry the vegetables

1. Clean and peel the eggplants and cut them into cubes
2. Wash the peppers, remove the center and the seeds, and cut the peppers into cubes
3. Fry the eggplant cubes in a pan with abundant olive oil
4. Once golden brown, remove them and let them dry on a kitchen paper towel so the towel will absorb the excess oil
5. In the same oil, fry the peppers
6. Once cooked, remove from the pan and put them aside

Adding nuts and spices

7. In another pan, pour 6 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the sliced onion
8. Add the chopped celery, capers, raisins, pinenuts, almonds, and unpitted olives. Stir fry at medium heat
9. Once it is all nicely browned, add the tomato sauce and the chopped basil leaves
10. Season with salt and pepper and let it simmer for a few minutes
11. Dissolve the sugar into the vinegar and pour over the sauce
12. Slowly add the eggplants and the peppers
13. Stir for a few minutes, season, and transfer to a serving dish

14. To serve, let it cool down completely. Even better the next day

How to serve it

Caponata is usually served as a starter or as a side dish displayed on a buffet table.

It is very convenient for entertaining as it can (and should ) be made at least 1 day ahead, it keeps for days and it is served at room temperature.

You can serve it with some nice crunchy bread or as a side dish for meat, fish, or even cheese.

Top tips

• Make the caponata 1 or 2 days ahead of time, the more time it rests, the more the ingredients amalgamize their flavors
• Use capers preserved in salt, they have a much better flavor
• All nuts should be of good quality
• You can use white or red vinegar, but if you use balsamic, do not add the sugar
• Make sure you absorb the oil from the fried eggplants and peppers; otherwise, the dish is too oily
• Buy small and long eggplants, making sure they are not full of seeds.

Origin of this recipe

There are different versions of the Sicilian caponata, with some variations depending on the Sicilian city of origin.

My twins' cousins Maria and Benedetta Battiata gave me this recipe.

Their father, Zio Mario, was of Sicilian origins.

An Agronomist who loved the simplicity of the taste of homegrown and farmer produces.

When he talked about food, we just listened. He completely changed my life when he declared: "roasted peppers go well with fresh pecorino cheese".

I have been addicted ever since!

This was his favorite Caponata recipe, and as he said: "Make the Caponata ahead of time; each day that passes, it gets better".

It is very true; the more it rests, the more the ingredients amalgamize their flavors.

Recipes with eggplants you might also like

For more Summer vegetable recipes, check out the category: Summer Vegetables

Also check the recipes below:

For more appetizers with eggplants, check out the story: 15 Authentic Italian Eggplant Recipes

If you are making this Sicilian vegetable Caponata recipe, leave your comment below I would like to hear from you. You can find more delicious ideas if you FOLLOW ME on Facebook, YouTube, or sign up to my newsletter.