How to Prepare Scrumptious Caponata

Full printable recipe will be on the last step.

According to Wikipedia: Caponata is a Sicilian eggplant relish made from chopped fried vegetables (mostly eggplants and peppers), seasoned with celery, olives and capers, in a bittersweet sauce. Variations of the ingredients exist: the "classical" recipes on the whole island number well over 37.

Today, caponata is typically used as a side dish or appetizer, but, since the 1700s, it has sometimes been used as a main course.

Caponata is an example of the eggplant-tomato combination that is found in many cuisines, such as the different moussaka found in the eastern Mediterranean.

The etymology of the name is not entirely known and evokes some controversy: it comes from either the "capon" or from the "caupone", the sailors' taverns.


In any case, it is a delicious and relatively simple dish to prepare, and it tastes great hot or cold. I find it tastes better the day after you make it, especially for a cold and served with fresh water-packed mozzarella and ciabatta bread.

Step 1 Gather the goods

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium-large eggplant, cut into (approx) 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I use a mix or red/orange/yellow when available)
1 medium onion, chopped
1(14oz) can diced tomatoes
3 tablespoons raisins
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoon drained capers (you can use olives in place of or in addition to capers)
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Salt and pepper

SERVING SUGGESTION INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf ciabatta bread, or other delicious rustic bread
Generous slices of fresh (water-packed) mozzarella (I use either one or two packages, depending upon how gluttonous I and my friends feel)

Comments

[lordhazzard]

Just made this, i also added some zucchini. Tasted great!

[[e-mail]]

rupamagic. Thank you for the recipe. My Aunt used to make it with olives in it. I thought I'd never find the recipe. Have you ever grown the long thin Asian eggplants? Baked and diced, they make a great salad with tomatos and olive oil and Italian Vinegar.

[Culturedropout]

Wow - you're making me hungry. Serving it on ciabatta bread sounds like a great idea. Whenever we end up with an eggplant, we sort of look at each other and say, "Okay - what do you do with eggplant?" Now we'll have something new to try. Thanks.

[rupamagic]

Glad to be of inspiration. Let me know how it turns out!

[Brennn10]

Rupamagic with another great dish!

[rupamagic]

Aww, shucks! Thanks, hope you enjoy it!