Italy · Vegetable and Mushroom Dishes · Vegetarian

Caponata

Name: Caponata
Prep time: 14 min
Cook time: 31 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 large eggplant, cut into 2.5 cm cubes; to taste extra virgin olive oil; 1 yellow onion; 1 red bell pepper; 2 small stalks celery; 1 cup chopped tomatoes; 2 tbsp capers; 1/4 cup seedless green olives; 1/4 cup raisins; 2 tsp honey; 1 bay leaf; 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes; 1/4 cup red wine vinegar; 1/4 cup dry white wine; 2 tbsp fresh parsley; 2 tbsp fresh mint; to taste salt and black pepper

Eggplant cubes fried golden, then simmered with tomatoes, celery, capers, and olives in a sweet-sour agrodolce sauce. This Sicilian staple tastes better the next day, once all the flavors have melded and deepened.

45 min 90 kcal 4 serves Advanced🌿Vegetarian🇮🇹Italy★★★★★4.7· 6 reviews

Ingredients

ServingsMetric

1 largeeggplant, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
to tasteextra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
2 small stalkscelery
1 cupchopped tomatoes
2 tbspcapers
¼ cupseedless green olives
¼ cupraisins
2 tsphoney
1 bay leaf
¼ tspred pepper flakes
¼ cupred wine vinegar
¼ cupdry white wine
2 tbspfresh parsley
2 tbspfresh mint
to tastesalt and black pepper

Note from Sergei

Sergei Martynov

“Caponata is Sicily on a plate — a sweet-and-sour vegetable stew where the agrodolce balance of vinegar and sugar transforms humble eggplant into something extraordinary. I learned the hard way that you must fry the eggplant separately before combining it with the soffritto; adding it raw turns the whole dish into mush. The capers and olives aren't just garnish — they're the salty backbone that makes the sweet-sour dance work. Always let caponata rest overnight in the fridge; like many Sicilian dishes, it tastes dramatically better the next day when all the flavors have had time to marry.”

Fry the eggplant cubes in small batches at high heat until deep golden — crowding the pan steams them instead of browning, and you lose that essential crispy-tender contrast.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Salt the eggplant cubes and leave them in a colander for 20-30 minutes to drain and remove bitterness. Blot with a paper towel.
Place the eggplant cubes on a baking tray, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil and stir. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.
In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion, bell pepper and celery. Season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Cook, stirring, for about 5-7 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Add the tomatoes, capers, olives, raisins, honey, bay leaf and red pepper flakes. Pour in the vinegar and white wine. Stir and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Add the roasted eggplant to the skillet and cook for another 2-3 minutes to allow the eggplant to soak up the sauce. Remove from heat and add the fresh parsley and mint.

FAQ

Both are vegetable stews, but caponata is distinctly Sicilian with a sweet-and-sour flavor (agrodolce) from vinegar and sugar or honey, plus olives, capers and raisins. Ratatouille is a French Provençal dish with a clean herbal taste — no vinegar, no sweet notes. Caponata is almost always served cold as an antipasto; ratatouille is served hot as a side dish.

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Comments (2)

Просто Мария
29d ago
Капоната — открытие этого года для меня. Раньше не знала такое блюдо а тепрь готовлю постоянно. Баклажаны обжариваю отдельно чтоб были мягкие, потом всё вместе тушу. На следующий день ещё вкуснее становиться.
Sergei Martynov✍ Author
29d ago
Cook the eggplant until it just barely yields to a knife for caponata. It continues softening from residual heat for 2-3 minutes. Cooking until fully soft in the pan means mush on the plate.