Caponata is a traditional Italian recipe for the classic accompaniment or cooked salad made from a blend of aubergines (eggplants), onion, garlic, celery, olives and capers cooked in olive oil, tomato juice and balsamic vinegar that can be served hot or cold. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Italian version of: Caponata.
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Caponata is one of those classic Italian accompaniments, where everyone has their own personal twist on the core idea of aubergines, tomatoes, onions, olives and capers.
Partly this is because caponata is cooked with whatever's to hand and also there is a different between the inland and coastal versions. Which is why some versions can contain anchovies, whilst others do not.
This is my own personal version of Caponata. It works for me and my guests love it, but experiment with your own version. This is one of those dishes for which there is no true 'canonical' version out of which every other one grew. It's a matter of tradition and personal preference. As long as you keep on tasting the dish as you build it, you cannot go far wrong.
Ingredients:
4 medium aubergines (eggplants), cubed
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (and more for drizzling)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
1 tsp dried oregano, crumbled
400g tin of chopped tomatoes (drain and reserve the liquid)
100g green olives, pitted and roughly torn
3 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
4 anchovy fillets, finely minced (optional)
30ml balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp brown sugar (or to taste)
generous handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
10 basil leaves, roughly torn
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Place the aubergine pieces in a colander, sprinkle with salt then set aside to drain for 30 minutes. After this time, heat about 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a saucepan, wash the excess salt from the aubergine pieces, add to the pan and fry over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until the aubergine pieces are nicely browned. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.
Add the remaining olive oil to the pan then use to fry the onion and celery for 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and tomato pieces then bring to a simmer, season to taste with salt and black pepper then add the olive pieces, half the reserved tomato juice and anchovy fillets (if the mixture looks a little dry, add more of the tomato juice). Bring back to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, or until almost dry.
At this point stir in the aubergine pieces and the capers. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, bring back to a simmer then taste. If it needs a little sweetness, add about 1/2 tsp brown sugar. Continue cooking for 10 minutes, or until the vinegar has been absorbed.
Take off the heat and transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the chopped parsley and mix thoroughly to combine. Garnish with the pine nuts and basil leaves, drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and serve.
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