The caponata is serious. All Sicilians, who, worse than Capulets and Montagues, take on a coast to coast aubergine challenge, to gain supremacy for the most authentic caponata made in Sicily. In reality, there are many recipes for this dish - at least thirty or so - which today are served as an appetizer or side dish, but in the 1700s it was a main dish accompanied by bread.
Caponata: originally it was a fish
The name caponata identified the companatico (meaning eaten with bread), a dish women would serve their husband fishermen of Capone, a fish from the tuna family that Sicilians call the Lampuga, sought after for its fine meat and served with caponata sweet and sour sauce. The poor, who could not afford the fish, replaced it with aubergines. There are two schools of thought on the island characterized by bien manger: on the one hand, those who produce the dish with vegetables, including eggplants, combined with another Sicilian trademark such as almonds, and then seasoned with sweet and sour, and those who, on the east coast, specifically the city of Catania, see a prevalence of eggplant and tomato, combined with pine nuts and fresh basil.
The long eggplant, not just any eggplant
In both cases the eggplant used for the caponata is oblong and firm, also known as the Palermo violet. This eggplant has a less spongy consistency than round ones, and a dense and compact center, perfect to avoid absorbing too much oil when frying and not to release it once cooked, thus preventing that super greasy effect.
Here are the recipes and remember, that caponata is better if eaten the next day. Assuming you can resist!
Recipe of the Trapanese caponata
Ingredients
2 lb round aubergines, 2 peppers, 1 celery stalk, 1 red onion, a clove of garlic, 2 carrots, green olives Nocellara del Belice, slightly toasted almonds, a handful of desalinated capers, 1 lb pizzuttello tomatoes, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, salt
Method
Take the aubergines, wash them and cut off the petiole and the end part. Cut them into chunks and let them drain in a colander with coarse salt for about 30 minutes. Separately, clean and slice the peppers. Cut the onion into slices, do the same with the carrots and then sauté the vegetables in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a clove of garlic. Add the tomatoes cleaned and cut into small pieces, half a glass of vinegar, let it fade and then add the two tablespoons of sugar. In a pot, blanch the celery in water and vinegar for a few minutes and then add it to the tomatoes. Rinse the aubergines, dry them in a sheet of absorbent paper and then fry them in a pan with hot oil. When they are golden brown, drain them and dry the excess oil. Do the same with the peppers and then add the fried vegetables to the tomatoes, add the chopped olives, slightly toasted almonds and capers. Stir gently with a wooden spoon so as not to melt the vegetables. Add salt and serve your caponata.
Catanese caponata recipe
Ingredients
2 lb long eggplants, 12 oz tomatoes, 1 celery stalk, 1 red onion, 4 oz pitted green olives, a handful of desalinated capers, 2 oz pine nuts, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, half a glass of white wine, some basil leaves, extra virgin olive oil, salt
Method
As for the Caponata Trapani, clean and slice the aubergines, cut them into pieces and put them in a colander. Sprinkle them with coarse salt and leave them like this for 30 minutes, then rinse them, squeeze them and dry them with absorbent paper. Wash the celery, cut it into pieces and blanch it in water and vinegar for 5 minutes, then drain. Fry the eggplant cubes in plenty of extra virgin olive oil and when they are golden brown, drain them with a skimmer. In another pan sauté the sliced onion in a little oil, add the celery, olives, capers, pine nuts and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and continue cooking for ten minutes. Add the fried aubergines, vinegar and sugar and continue cooking for two minutes. Add salt, decorate with basil leaves and serve. Serve the caponata warm or cold.