Caponata
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.5

History

Caponata's name traces to the Catalan 'caponada' (a sweet-and-sour sailors' dish), brought to Sicily by Aragonese rule in the 14th century. The Sicilian agrodolce balance, the use of capers, olives and pine nuts, all consolidated through the Spanish Habsburg centuries. There are over 30 documented regional Sicilian caponata variants.

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Common allergens: None

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 40 minTotal 2 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 800g aubergines, cut into 2cm cubes
  • 4 celery stalks, sliced
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 400g cluster tomatoes, chopped
  • 100g green olives, pitted
  • 50g salted capers, rinsed
  • 50g pine nuts, toasted
  • 30g sultanas, soaked
  • 40g sugar
  • 80ml white wine vinegar
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt

Method

  1. Salt the aubergine cubes in a colander for 30 minutes to draw out water. Pat dry.
  2. Heat olive oil in a wide pan and fry the aubergine in batches until deep golden. Lift out and drain.
  3. In the same pan, soften the onion and celery for 8 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook 10 minutes until thick.
  4. Add olives, capers, drained sultanas and pine nuts. Stir in sugar and vinegar.
  5. Return the fried aubergine. Simmer 15 minutes until the agrodolce balance comes together.
  6. Cool to room temperature before serving. Caponata tastes better the next day.

Tip from the editors. Frying the aubergine in batches and draining before combining is the structural rule; if you skip this you get a watery stew, not caponata.

Where to eat caponata

Caponata in Palermo

Buatta Cucina Popolana ★ 4.8

€€ SicilianLoggia

Buatta on Via Vittorio Emanuele in Palermo is the city's flagship cucina povera room, a Michelin Bib Gourmand for seasonal Sicilian plates inside.

OrderSarde a beccafico and the caponata, the carte flagships.

TipBook ahead. The mixed antipasti for two is the efficient lunch order.

Directions Book a table

Bisso Bistrot ★ 4.3

€ SicilianLoggia

Bisso Bistrot at the Quattro Canti in Palermo serves Sicilian classics like pasta alla Norma and caponata at communal tables for under 12 euros.

TrySicilian classics under 12 euros

TipNo reservations. Arrive 12:30 lunch or 19:30 dinner.

Directions

Trattoria Ai Cascinari ★ 4.2

€€ ItalianCapo

Trattoria Ai Cascinari on Via D'Ossuna in Palermo is a 1949 family room behind the Capo market, where Palermitan workers eat cucina povera classics.

Why locals goA 1949 Slow Food trattoria behind the Capo market that almost no tourist finds; the Cascino courtyard location keeps it strictly Palermitan working-class lunch.

TipBook a day ahead for Sunday lunch; gluten-free pasta available with notice. Cash works fastest.

Directions

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