caponata
Caponata, a Sicilian sweet and sour stew of eggplant and other vegetables, is a dish well worth having some kind of version of up your sleeve. Ruth Rodgers noted in her cookbook River Cafe Classic that “there are as many ways to make caponata as there are cooks in Sicily”. So long as you have punchy, bright and bold flavours marinating in agrodolce sauce I think you are on the right track no matter what recipe you use.
Like all Italian food the dish heroes an ingredient, in this case the eggplant, and elevates it with a symphony of delicate flavours; celery sautéed until so soft you could mush it with the back of a fork, tangy capers and olives slippery with brine, sweetness from the sugar and bright acidity from the vinegar. All of this held together by creamy chunks of fried eggplant.
The main part of this that requires a bit of finesse is the frying of the eggplant. Too much oil when frying turns the eggplant to mush, too little and it will absorb the oil so quickly leaving you with dry pan. A shallow fry is what I refer to it as but you want to be leaning (just a lean) more towards a ‘deep’ fry. A 2cm pool of oil in the pan tends to work for me but your eggplants may be more or less absorbent depending on the season. What you want is to be able to fry the chunks of eggplant up without having to add more cold oil to your hot pan but not so much so that they are swimming. This is why I like to do it in batches.
The best part about caponata is its versatility to be enjoyed on so many things! On a pizza, on some roasted lamb, on a crostini, in a toasted sandwich, tossed through pasta - all are delicious ways to enjoy this Sicilian stew.
Caponata
2 medium sized eggplants
3 stalks celery, finely diced
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon capers
1/4 cup pitted olives
1 can (400g) whole peeled tomatoes 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
olive oil
salt
Cut eggplant into small dices, around 2cm thick, sprinkle with salt and leave to sit for 10-20 minutes to sweat. Pat dry before frying.
In a fry pan add enough olive oil to shallow fry (around 1-2cm). When hot add your eggplant and fry until soft and starting to caramelised. If your pan is too crowded you can fry in multiple batches. Set aside once fried.
Using the remaining oil in pan sauté onion, garlic, capers and celery. Sauté gently until celery begins to soften then return eggplant to the pan along with the olives and tomato. Finally add your vinegar and sugar, stirring to dissolve. Cook on a simmer for roughly fifteen minutes or until the caponata begins to reduce slightly. Keep an eye on it as stoves are all different and maybe need a little less/more time to reduce.
To finish season with salt. Serve at room temperature and store in the fridge.
