Caponata: a typical and delicious Sicilian eggplant dish.

Sicily, as we know, is a land rich in flavorful foods and intense aromas. Among these, we certainly cannot fail to mention the eggplant caponata. It is a mix of fried vegetables, mostly eggplants, flavored with tomato sauce, onion, celery, olives, capers, and sweet and sour sauce. Naturally, there are numerous variants, there is no limit to creativity. What matters is that it is a truly exquisite dish, appreciated by many as a side dish.

Caponata: history and tradition

The popular etymology of the word caponata comes from "capone", the name used in some areas of Sicily to refer to the lampara, a fish with precious but rather dry meat that was served on noble tables with the sweet and sour sauce typical of Sicilian caponata. The less wealthy, however, couldn't afford the fish and replaced it with cheaper eggplants. Others claim that the name of the dish derives from "caupone", the taverns of sailors. Still others assert that it comes from the Greek “Capto”, from the verb to cut, as all the ingredients used to prepare caponata are chopped. An interesting fact: like other typical products of Sicily, caponata is included in the list of traditional Sicilian agri-food products recognized by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies.

Caponata: an original recipe with a thousand variants

Talking about an original recipe in front of a dish like caponata is not easy at all. There are more than 30 different versions depending on the area of origin. Among the most famous is the one from Palermo, which we will now illustrate.

Caponata alla palermitana for 4 people:

1 kg of eggplants

200 grams of pitted green olives

500 grams of red tomatoes

400 grams of celery (only stalks)

50 grams of desalted capers

60 grams of pine nuts

2 white onions

50 grams of sugar

50 grams of white vinegar

A handful of coarse salt

300 grams of seed oil

Extra virgin olive oil

Cut the eggplants into cubes, sprinkle them with coarse salt and let them rest in a colander for 1 hour to release water and bitterness.

Dice the celery, put it in a pot of boiling water with a little salt and let it soften for 5 minutes. Drain and transfer to a cotton cloth.

Chop the onions and let them brown on low heat in a pan with a little oil. Once wilted, add the capers, olives, and pine nuts and let them cook for 10 minutes on high heat, adding water if necessary.

Dice the tomatoes and cook them in the pan with the onion for at least 20 minutes so that the water evaporates. Sauté the celery in a pan with a little extra virgin olive oil.

Drain the eggplants, dry them, and fry them in seed oil; once fried, drain them and add them to the mixture with the onions. Also add the celery, mix over medium heat, then add the vinegar and sugar. Let it cook off and then turn off the heat and serve the caponata with basil if available.

Caponata: the ingredients to use for making other types

The caponata of Agrigento: is made with eggplants, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, celery, green olives, black olives, capers, vinegar, honey, sugar, garlic, oil, chili, basil, pine nuts, and dried raisins.

The caponata of Trapani: is made with eggplants, peppers, onions, ripe tomatoes, celery, green olives, capers, vinegar, sugar, and toasted almonds.

The caponata of Catania: is made with eggplants, yellow peppers, red peppers, tomatoes, onions, celery, white or black olives, capers, vinegar, oil, salt, and sugar.

Finally, the Naples caponata which is completely different from the Sicilian one and has nothing to do with the recipe found in Sicily: indeed, it consists of a wheat fresella soaked and seasoned with fresh tomato, garlic, oil, oregano, and basil.

On the Spaghetti & Mandolino portal you can find the Sicilian caponata from Frantoi Cutrera, or you can let yourself be inspired by our Sicilian regional selections or Neapolitan selections. Don’t miss the opportunity to order online your reserve to keep in your pantry, you can wait for the reception while comfortably at home.

Francesco Scuderi