Sicilian Caponata
September 11, 2012 
My farmer's market is just chock full of eggplant right now so it's the perfect time to make this dish from Sicily - Caponata. It's an eggplant stew or relish that can be used in a variety of ways. It does make a great vegetarian main dish, but it's mostly used a side dish, especially for fish. I like to spread it on some good, crusty bread.
Caponata has that Sicilian affinity for agrodolce - sweet and sour. It is made with vinegar and sugar. It is a flavor explosion but can be made to suit your own particular tastes. I've seen recipes for caponata that contain twice the amount of vinegar that I use in this recipe. I don't like it quite that sour. You can adjust the vinegar to your liking and the sugar to your taste. Some recipes use red wine vinegar and some use white wine vinegar. Either one is fine.
You can serve this hot (which I like) but it is traditionally served at room temperature. It lasts for several days in the fridge after you make it.
The traditional way to make it is to cube the eggplant and fry it. I like roasting eggplant instead, because it soaks up so much oil and roasting it is a lot easier. Salting the eggplant beforehand is important because it helps to collapse the air holes that are in the eggplant, making it like a sponge. That is why it soaks up so much oil.
Caponata has capers, olives and celery added to round out the flavors. In Italy, the olives are totally different than the ones we commonly grew up eating here - the Spanish olives in jars. Totally different. If you are not a fan of those (like me) and do not have access to great olives (like me), you can use Cento nocellara olives. They are about the best I have found that comes close to the kind of olives we ate in Italy. If you live in New York City and can get to Eataly and buy some great olives, I'm jealous. But where I live, there is just nothing like that. We don't even have a Whole Foods here. So luckily, my neighborhood wine shop carries these great olives. They're rich and pungent and firm, not soggy.
This "male" eggplant should have fewer seeds, but this is a myth
The seeds in eggplant are what make eggplant bitter, but how do you choose eggplants with fewer seeds? There is a myth out there that there are female and male eggplants and that the males have fewer seeds. If you talk to plant specialists, they will tell you that there is no such thing as a male and female eggplant. Supposedly, male eggplants have a bellybutton type bottom and females have a more oblong shape on the bottom. I bought eggplants which look like the male version and they still had a ton of seeds. So this method does not work. In fact, I don't know of any sure way to pick out regular eggplants with few seeds (although white eggplant and Japanese eggplant have fewer). If anyone knows of a reliable way to do this, please leave it in the comments!
Sicilian Caponata
for a printable recipe click here
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds of eggplant, cubed (about 3 medium eggplant)
- 2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1-1/2 cups crushed San Marzano tomatoes (I use Cento Passata)
- 1/2 cup green Italian olives (I use Cento nocellara olives), sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 3 tablespoons capers packed in salt, rinsed
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or to taste)
- 2 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
- freshly ground black pepper
- chopped fresh basil
- 2 hard boiled eggs, quartered for garnish
Instructions:
Place the cubed eggplant in a colander and toss well with the salt. Let the eggplant sit for about an hour. Do not rinse the eggplant. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the eggplant on a rimmed baking sheet (I line mine with foil for easy cleanup). Toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and roast for 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large frypan, saute the chopped onions in 1/4 cup of olive oil, gently, for about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the olives, celery, capers, vinegar and sugar and gently simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the roasted eggplant and stir until blended. Add pepper to taste.
to slice whole olives, remove the pit by smashing the olive
with the flat part of a knife. The pit will then be easy to remove and
you can slice the olives.
To serve, add chopped fresh basil and serve with hard boiled eggs and some crusty bread. Or use as a side dish for fish or chicken. You can serve this hot or at room temperature. It lasts several days in the fridge.
Reader Comments (28)
I love caponata, yours look irresistible!
I love caponata and this looks good. try putting raisins in with it. Love it with raisins.
I know that eggplant is like a blotter, but after you salt it to "draw out" the bitterness, if you don't rinse all that salt off (two Tablespoons!) won't the dish be too salty? After letting the salted slices drain for a while, I have always quickly rinsed and thoroughly dried the salted eggplant slices. No problem with soggy eggplant. THEN I cube the slices, mix with olive oil and roast. Is there some Italian trick that allows a dish to contain so much salt and still taste good? With my problems with hypertension,i it would be so unhealthy for me to keep that much salt in a dish.
II'm going to make this sometime this weekend and let you know how it goes. Looks amazing.
They had pine nuts and raisins in the caponata they served at Next - it was so good. Went very well with the panelle they had (same as they had at Alinea).
-Barry
I always find when choosing eggplant, the lighter the eggplant, less seeds...
From The Italian Dish:
Arlene: I know it sounds like the eggplant would end up salty, but it really doesn't. Rinsing it off is a big no-no, because the eggplant then ends up soggy. Some people blot the slices with paper towels. If you have a health problem with salt, though, I can see how you would want to remove it.
Oh how I love caponata,it is such a versatile dish and so full of such robust flavor,this is making me very hungry.I also enjoy to have mine served warm especially in the colder months.I love the Nocella/Nocellara olives they are superb,and easily available where I live,I also love the Castelvetrano variety they have such a rich buttery flavor and not salty at all,almost sweet.I feel inspired to whip up some caponata.thank you
It's a great year for eggplants! These look just like the ones I've been harvesting from the backyard. Our family has always salted the eggplants first (30 minutes & then rinse & gently squeeze them). Last week, I made my Sicilian grandma's version of this which she called "caponatina" (little caponata?). Her recipe uses honey instead of sugar & also includes sweet peppers. I used fresh tomatoes which means it had to cook down a bit longer. I didn't have wine vinegar so used balsamic instead. My mom says Grandma even used to cure the green olives herself way back when. I used the big pitted Sicilian-type green olives. Also added just a little dried spearmint which we use a lot in our cooking. (Not sure if that's regional to where my family came from on la bella isola -- an Arabic influence...) Yes, crusty bread & I like some chunks of aged provolone with it as well. A glass of chilled vino bianco doesn't go wrong either ;-)
What a delicious recipe! I am heading to the farmer's market and will definitely pick up some eggplant and make a lovely caponata. Thank you for the fantastic instructions.
Fantastic post; I've always wanted to make this!
Arlene: The salt draws the liquid out, and the liquid draws the salt way as is drains.
~Inez
We've been growing eggplant for over 30 years and this is what we've found.
The older the eggplant, the more seeds develop. The seeds make the eggplant heavy. Buy firm, large, lightweight eggplants and you'll have a better than average chance of finding the kind you're looking for.
Another great way to use eggplants is to halve them, roast them cut side down, scoop out the flesh leaving a 1/2 inch border. Mix the cooked flesh with a little olive oil, an egg, garlic, capers, chopped tomatoes and some grated romano. Fill the shells with the mixture, top with a combo of panko and grated parmesan and bake at 350° about 30 minutes or till golden brown. Serve with marinara sauce on the side.
I've talked seen many people skip the part about the eggplant and the salt. I think that's a critical step with getting the bitterness out of it.
But thanks to Francesca's comment, I'm now going to pick lighter eggplants to have them be less bitter.
I dislike the taste of capers very much. What do you think I can substitute for them and get the same taste. What do you think of adding Kalamata in lieu of the capers.
@Arlene - don't use table salt - it does harm you. (Here in NZ it is iodized) I use rock salt or Celtic Sea Salt which is full of minerals - about 82 of them I'm told - which your body definitely needs.
My grandmother introduced me to this dish many years ago and I haven't had it in ages. Your recipe sounds amazing and I love how you've made it into a meal with the bread and eggs- adding the ingredients to my grocery list now! Good tip for slicing the olives as well. Many thanks for another fab recipe!
Eggplants are one of my favorite vegetables, and caponata probably one of the best way to prepare it... Lovely meal, beautiful photography and amazing artwork (I visited your web page The Artwork).
We still have a few eggplant in the garden unless this current heat way in San Diego kills them. This recipe sounds perfectly yummy. Can't wait to make it. Thanks for the lighter/fewer seeds comment too.
OK, Elaine...When you said your local wine shop carried the right olives I was SURE you meant Dusty's, but no luck. Where can I score these?
From The Italian Dish:
Beth: Have you been to Vine and Brew beer and wine shop on Jolly Road? It's just west of Okemos Road, near the Taco Bell. Awesome shop!
Mmm, looks delicious! I love caponata. My favorite way to way to eat it is to spread it on bread dough and add some cheese and bake it like a pizza.
OMG..... how have I never made this before? Made a batch last week & had it (as you suggested) with some nice crusty bread & hard boiled eggs for our picnic lunch on our canoe trek. A nice creamy gorgonzola was a great accompaniment. Thanks Elaine!
I could just eat the whole plate.
First, the seeds don't make eggplants bitter. Age makes eggplants bitter. As the eggplant matures it develops seeds and the flesh gets more dense, the skin gets tougher, and the eggplant tastes more bitter.
How the eggplant is grown also affects bitterness. Eggplants starved for water will be much more bitter than those grown with sufficient water.
Different types of eggplant are less bitter than others. The least bitter type that I know of is the Sicilian type which is small, almost round, with pink / white coloring. The most bitter are the long thin, almost black Thai eggplants.
You can tell young eggplants from old eggplants in the store by look and feel. Young eggplants are glossy, not dull and will have a little give when you gently squeeze them, almost spongy. They should feel light for their size. Old eggplants will have a dull finish, feel solid, and will not give at all when you squeeze them.
And there is no such thing as a male or female eggplant. All eggplants develop from flowers that have both male and female parts. The size of the blossom scar is dependent on environmental conditions, not sex.
I've made 3 different recipes for caponata and yours is, by far, the best! Thanks for the recipe and your beautiful site.
"Baby" Eggplant have fewer seeds, but are not always easy to find and are more expensive.
An update on this recipe and my previous comment. I always sweat eggplant slices with Kosher salt, which is my cooking salt. (Table salt is just that: for the table although I also use it as a baking ingredient.) Lately for Caponata I've paper-toweled the salted eggplant slices dry without rinsing. You're right, Elaine. Not soggy at all! Next I plan to try "baby" eggplants and use without salting. This is a wonderful recipe with great texture and a terrific combination of flavors...my friends love it too, even carnivorous ones. I've even served it as a sauce for pasta (medium shells) with lots of Romano cheese. To quote someone to whom I gave the recipe... "divine!" :)
Thanks to Joe and his post of Feb 20th. Finally a sensible explanation about eggplants. While shopping in the produce section, I would always forget which eggplant was male and which was female. And then I'd forget which one had more seeds or less seeds. So I would buy one of each and was never satisfied with the results. Now I have a another way to shop for eggplant. I'll let you know how it turns out.