photo credit: stevendepolo
The Italian gourmet salad of Caponata is most associated with Sicily, although it is believed that the Arabs originally brought it to Italy. The salad is a mixture of eggplant, anchovies, and vegetables that are cooked together in olive oil. Although Caponata was once served as a main meal, these days we find it served most often as an appetizer. It is usually served at room temperature with small bread rounds or crackers, although some prefer to serve it chilled. Either way, the exotic taste and smell of this combination of ingredients makes it very popular.
Almost all recipes for this gourmet salad include celery. The celery gives the dish a nice crunch, so be sure not to overcook it. Capers are essential to a good caponata. Rinse them if you don’t like too much salt.
A while back I ran across a nice caponata recipe from the Governor of Maine – Governor John Baldacci. Aside from a little chopping, it is really quite easy to make. Cut 2 pounds of eggplant into 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle with a tablespoon of salt and set aside to drain in a colander while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. You’ll need 2 cups of coarsely chopped celery, a cup of chopped carrots, 3/4 cup of chopped onion, and 6 chopped green olives. You’ll also want to mash up 3 cups of canned tomatoes.
In a large skillet, saute your celery, carrots and onion in some olive oil for about 15 minutes. Add your drained eggplant and saute for 10 minutes. Place all of this in a pot and add your tomatoes along with 1/3 cup of wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, your green olives, 2 tablespoons of capers and 4 or 5 anchovies packed in oil. Don’t worry if you don’t care for anchovies. They will dissolve and add a marvelous flavor to the dish. Let all of this simmer for about 15 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.
You will want to chill this for a while to let the flavors marry and your gourmet salad – Sicilian Caponata – is ready to serve.
Watch Steph make a gorgeous caponata in two minutes! Click here!
Mangia Bene!
