a Sicilian surprise
This eggplant-based dish hails from the sizzling land of Sicily, where fresh veggies, especially juicy eggplant and tomato, are plentiful almost all of the time. For us north easterners in the US, the season for truly great nightshades is fleeting, and late august is the time to scoop up the freshest ingredients and whip up a classic caponata. The “meat” of this dish is comprised of roasted eggplant, onion, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Red wine vinegar and capers stirred in at the end give this veggie-heavy dish a little tang, and fresh parsley and basil give it some greenery.
If I’ve convinced you that this is THE recipe to try before summer ends, I highly recommend making it a day before, as the flavors have an opportunity to meld and intensify overnight in the fridge. You can serve it as a spread on crusty baguette, a topper for pasta and salad, or you can even just enjoy it by the spoonful. No judgement here while living la dolce vita.
⟶ the recipe
eggplant caponata
ingredients
2 large or 3 small eggplants, diced
½ red onion, chopped
1-2 red bell peppers, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons capers
½ cup chopped fresh parsley
Fresh basil for garnish
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
1 hour
Total time
1 hour 30 minutes
6-8 servings
instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss eggplant with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
Place eggplant in a single layer on the sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned and a bit crispy. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
Drizzle some olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet and place on medium heat. Add the onion, and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the peppers, and cook, stirring often for about 10 minutes, or until veggies are pretty soft.
Add the garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat, and cook stirring occasionally, for about 10 more minutes, or until tomatoes have broken down into a saucy consistency.
Once the eggplant has roasted, add it to the skillet along with the vinegar and capers. Cook, stirring for another few minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the chopped parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper as desired.
Garnish with fresh basil to serve.
⟶ recipe notes
- You can either roast or fry the eggplant, but I’ve roasted it since you can easily stay light on the oil that way. Roasting if also gives the veggie a soft, caramelized sweetness. Try a few pieces of plain roasted eggplant before adding it to the rest of the ingredients—it’s almost like candy!
⟶ modifications
- I used cherry tomatoes for this recipe, but usually caponata calls for regular tomatoes, chopped, with some of the pulp and seeds removed. You can absolutely do that, I just went with cherry tomatoes since they’re easier to work with
⟶ make it ahead and store it
- Definitely make this ahead of time and try it the next day! You can eat it right away, but giving the flavors the opportunity to meld and settle makes it 10x better
- Store caponata in a tightly sealed container or jar in the fridge for up to 5 days
