Caponata Recipe

We continue our series of summer-flavored recipes by presenting a classic of Sicilian cuisine: caponata. With its mix of eggplant, vinegar, and sugar, it perfectly exemplifies one of the region's distinctive flavors: "agrodolce" ("agro" meaning "sour" and "dolce" meaning "sweet). Every Sicilian family has its own recipe - there are 36 official recipes - so it would be almost impossible to find two identical caponatas. Here is our proposal!

Caponata

Learn how to make one of the most famous Sicilian side dishes

DifficultyEasy

Preparation time40m

Cooking time40m

Servings5

€

CostLow

Ingredients

3 large aubergines, chopped into chunks
Peppers, 2 red and 2 yellow, chopped into chunks
1 stick of celery, chopped into chunks
2 spoons tomato concentrate
1 onion, chopped into medium pieces
100 g pitted green olives
50 g unsalted capers
3 tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 tbsp. caster sugar
Basil leaves
Peanut or sunflower oil for frying
Salt to taste

Method

Chop the aubergine into cubes and leave to soak in salted water for about half an hour.
Dry the aubergines and fry in plenty of oil, leaving them to rest on kitchen roll once cooked.
Chop the pepper into pieces, making sure to remove the seeds, and then fry in oil.
Chop the onions and celery into pieces and fry in separate pans, each ingredient must cook in its own oil.
When all the vegetables are cooked, put them all in a colander and allow the oil to drain away completely for at least half a day.
Keep some of the cooking oil to one side, and heat it up in a pan. Add sugar and vinegar to the oil. When the sugar has dissolved, add the tomato.
In a separate pan, heat up the vegetables, add the olives and capers, then cook gently over a low heat. Stir in the oil, sugar and vinegar and continue to heat for a few minutes. If you need, you can adjust the sugar and vinegar to taste.
Leave the caponata to cool and serve tepid.

Caponata

Caponata

Ingredients

Method

Cooking Classes and Food and Wine Tours in Sicily

Sicily and its flavors will no longer hold any secrets! With Cesarine, you can explore the best markets, such as the iconic Ballarò market in Palermo, and savor the delicacies of a land with a rich culinary tradition: Busiate, Pasta alla Norma, Sicilian cannoli, and much more await you!