Silky, candy, and bitter, this eggplant caponata recipe is a scrumptious summer season appetizer. Serve it on crostini with a lot of recent basil for garnish!
Nowadays, our neighborhood farmers market is mainly like a caponata cooking package. Mounds of eggplants, tomatoes, and multicolored peppers fill each stall. I’m fairly happy about it, as a result of this Sicilian vegetable stew is one in every of my favourite late summer season dishes. It’s tangy, briny, and evenly candy, with a wealthy, silky texture that’s completely irresistible.
I first fell in love with caponata years in the past on a visit to Italy. Jack and I ordered it as an appetizer with crusty bread and a glass of white wine virtually in all places we went. After we received house, after all I needed to discover ways to make my very own model. This caponata recipe has been a fixture in our kitchen ever since. I hope you find it irresistible as a lot as we do!
Caponata Recipe Substances
Right here’s what you’ll have to make this eggplant caponata recipe:
- Eggplant, after all! Conventional caponata recipes begin with fried eggplant, however for a lighter, hands-off shortcut, I roast it as an alternative.
- Celery, onion, and garlic – They add savory taste.
- Crimson bell peppers – A basic caponata ingredient!
- Tomatoes – They create a lightweight sauce for the opposite veggies.
- Tomato paste – It thickens the recent tomato sauce.
- Capers – For briny taste. Some caponata recipes name for each inexperienced olives and capers, however I discover that simply capers do the trick. Plus, I all the time have a jar in my fridge!
- Sherry vinegar – In a pinch, purple wine vinegar will work right here too.
- Cane sugar and golden raisins – For sweetness. Many eggplant caponatas are solely sweetened with sugar, however I like the complexity that the raisins add to this recipe.
- Further-virgin olive oil – For richness.
- Recent parsley and basil – For an fragrant of entirety.
- And salt and pepper – To make all of the flavors pop!
Discover the whole recipe with measurements beneath.
Step one to creating this recipe is roasting the eggplant.
Whereas it’s within the oven, place the golden raisins in a small bowl with the vinegar and capers. They’ll plump up properly within the vinegar. By the point you add them to the caponata, they’ll be gentle, juicy, and stuffed with the vinegar’s tang.
Then, sauté the fragrant veggies and cook dinner the saucy tomato and pepper combination. Tip: ensure to sauté the greens till they soften totally. This caponata recipe is finest when all of the veggies are tender!
Add the roasted eggplant, plumped raisins, vinegar, and capers to the tomato and pepper sauce. Cook dinner for an additional 5 minutes to permit the eggplant to absorb the sauce’s flavors.
Lastly, stir within the parsley and season to style. Garnish with recent basil earlier than serving!
Methods to Serve Eggplant Caponata
Although you definitely may serve eggplant caponata heat as a aspect dish, I prefer it finest chilled or at room temperature. Serve it as an appetizer with crostini, or add it to a mezze platter or cheese board at a late summer season gathering. It retains nicely within the fridge for as much as 5 days. I like to recommend serving it on day 2 or 3, after the flavors have had an opportunity to meld.
You probably have leftover caponata, listed here are a number of enjoyable methods to make use of it up:
- Toss it with pasta for a speedy weeknight meal.
- Serve it over polenta with toasted pine nuts for crunch.
- Pile it onto toast and prime it with a poached or soft-boiled egg.
- Slather it onto a sandwich with arugula and recent mozzarella cheese.
How do you wish to serve caponata? Let me know within the feedback!
Extra Favourite Eggplant Recipes
When you love this caponata recipe, strive one in every of these scrumptious eggplant recipes subsequent:
Eggplant Caponata
Serves 6 to eight
This eggplant caponata recipe is a scrumptious summer season appetizer or aspect dish! My tackle the candy and bitter Sicilian stew, it is implausible chilled or at room temperature. We find it irresistible on crostini with recent basil for garnish.
- 1 recipe Roasted Eggplant
- 3 tablespoons golden raisins
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 purple bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 pound tomatoes, about 4 medium, cored and diced
- ½ teaspoon cane sugar
- ¼ cup chopped recent parsley
- Freshly floor black pepper
- Recent basil leaves, for garnish
- Crostini, for serving
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Roast the eggplant in response to this recipe.
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In a small bowl, mix the golden raisins, vinegar, and capers. Put aside for the raisins to melt whilst you put together the caponata.
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Warmth the olive oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Add the onion and celery and cook dinner for 8 minutes, or till the greens have softened. Add the purple pepper and salt. Cook dinner till tender, about 8 minutes.
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Add the tomato paste, garlic, tomatoes, and sugar, and cook dinner, stirring typically, for about 8 minutes, or till the tomatoes have cooked down and change into saucy.
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Add the roasted eggplant, raisins, vinegar, capers, and a number of other grinds of pepper, and cook dinner, stirring, for five extra minutes. Stir within the parsley and season to style.
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Permit the caponata to chill to room temperature. We prefer it finest on days 2 and three, after the flavors have had an opportunity to meld. Retailer it in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
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When able to serve, garnish the caponata with recent basil. Serve with crostini.
