Sicilian Capers: Caponata

Blue skies. Poplar trees, their leaves shuddering in the soft, warm summer breeze. A waft of wild oregano mingles with the song of a thrush. The warmth of sunshine eases the skin on my right forearm as I pour a glass of wine from my jug. I break a chunk of bread from my loaf and spread it with a rich, deep, red-brown mixture of fragrant aubergine and onion. The exquisite taste tingles my taste buds and is enhanced by the heady alcohol of the wine.

Billy Dog barks, the postman pushes our mail through the mail slot, and my reverie is broken. But the reality to which I return is that of a heady, earthy smell of cooking and the sizzle of oil in a heavy fry pan. I grasp the just-warm handle and shake the pan, tossing the cubes of aubergine or eggplant in the fragrant olive oil.

I float back to my reverie, where a checked cloth adorns a long table surrounded by laughing olive-skinned folk. Glasses are raised while forks scrape across porcelain. The patriarch, a white-haired distinguished-looking man, cuts a large loaf with a shiny serrated-edged knife. Around the table, the slices of bread are spread with the same fragrant aubergine stew that now lies sizzling in my pan. This is Caponata, a Sicilian vegetable stew. According to famous Italian chef Antonio Carluccio’s website, Caponata “is a typical Sicilian dish based on vegetables, above all on aubergines. The vegetables are fried and then simmered in a sweet-and-sour sauce. The origins of the word caponata are unclear, although some say it is Catalan. It could derive from the Latin caupona, meaning osteria (bar), where you would always find a caponata ready to eat. Whatever its origin, this dish, served cold as an antipasto, is now popular all over Italy. It can be eaten warm as an accompaniment to meat and poultry or used as a pasta sauce.”

I made this recipe using my Thermomix and – yes, really – a large pan on the stove. It is delicious. We had it warm the first night with seared tuna steaks, then cold on homemade bread – made in my Thermomix, of course!

Caponata
Recipe adapted from Carluccio’s Complete Italian Food. Serves 6.

Ingredients
1 large onion
3-4 celery stalks, including leaves, cut into 2-inch lengths
5 Tbsp olive oil
1kg (2 1/4 lb) aubergines, cut into 2.5cm (1 inch) chunks
1 Tbsp salted capers, soaked in water for 10 minutes, then drained
20 green olives, stoned
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
55g (1 3/4 oz) concentrated tomato paste
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Chop the onion and celery 2 seconds/Speed 5. Antonio Carluccio then blanches the chopped veg in lightly salted water so to do this easily in the Thermomix, boil 500 g of water in a kettle, then pour it into the Thermomix bowl to cover the veg. Blanche on Varoma setting/3 minutes/Speed 1/Reverse Blade Direction, then drain through the internal steamer basket into a jug or bowl. Reserve the blanched vegetables for the stew and use the fragrant broth another time as a stock or to flavour bread.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the aubergine chunks and fry until brown and tender (don’t over crowd the pan; you will probably have to cook them in batches). Add the onion, celery and all the remaining ingredients. Stir well, then cover and cook for about 15 minutes, removing the lid of the pan towards the end of cooking. Should the sauce require extra moisture, add a tablespoon or two of your fragrant blanching water during cooking. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Buon appetito !

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Update:

Here is a photo of the finished dish, eaten cold the next day on a thick slice of bread, made in my Thermomix using the fragrant water in which the chopped onion and celery were blanched. The Caponata was as delicious cold as it was hot, and makes for a hearty, tasty starter or light lunch.

Please like & share: