Eggplant stew with sweet and sour sauce (Caponatina)
4 servings
60 minutes
Caponato is a vibrant dish of Sicilian cuisine infused with Mediterranean aromas. Historically it originated as a peasant treat where vegetables were stewed in a sweet and sour sauce, creating a harmony of flavors. Eggplants, tomatoes, celery, and bell peppers fill the stew with rich, slightly caramel notes enhanced by balsamic vinegar and sugar. Olives and capers add zest while basil brings freshness. Caponato is traditionally served chilled to allow the flavors to shine even brighter. It can be used as an appetizer, a side dish for meat or served with crusty bread to enjoy every bite. This dish transports you to sunny Italy where the simplicity of ingredients transforms into a gastronomic masterpiece.
1
Wash and dice the eggplants, place them in a colander, sprinkle with coarse salt, cover with a weight, and leave for an hour to drain the bitterness.
- Eggplant: 1 kg
2
Cut the celery into strips and boil for 10 minutes in salted boiling water. Drain the water, chop the celery into cubes, and sauté on low heat with olive oil.
- Celery stalk: 600 g
- Olive oil: to taste
3
In another pan, sauté finely chopped onion in olive oil, then add olives and capers (capers should be rinsed from salt beforehand) and simmer everything together for 10 minutes.
- Onion: 2 pieces
- Pitted olives: 200 g
- Capers: 3 tablespoons
- Olive oil: to taste
4
Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer on medium heat for another 20 minutes. Meanwhile, remove the eggplants from the weight, rinse off the salt, dry them, and fry in olive oil in another pan.
- Tomatoes: 500 g
- Eggplant: 1 kg
- Olive oil: to taste
5
When the eggplants are ready, add celery, chopped bell pepper, 50 g of sugar, eggplants, half a cup of balsamic vinegar to the pan with tomatoes and simmer on low heat until the vinegar evaporates.
- Celery stalk: 600 g
- Bell pepper: 3 pieces
- Sugar: 50 g
- Eggplant: 1 kg
- Balsamic vinegar: 125 ml
6
Let it cool, add chopped basil, mix the stew, and serve chilled.
- Green basil: 1 bunch
