Summer Recipe: How To Make Caponata

Looking for some spring/summer dinner ideas? We’ve got the perfect dish for this time of year: caponata, a Sicilian-inspired dish made with vegetables, olives, herbs and tomatoes. Simple to make and packed with flavour, it’s best enjoyed alongside a slice of crusty bread – and works well as a batch cook dish for the week. Here’s a recipe to try, taken from cookbook Como Simple, created by the COMO Hotels & Resorts group.

What Is Caponata?

Caponata is a Mediterranean stew-like dish hailing from Sicily, similar to a ratatouille. The star ingredient is aubergine, which is usually paired with other vegetables like celery and shallots, alongside flavoursome ingredients like salty capers and olives, alongside plenty of herbs.

Caponata Recipe

Ingredients:

• 125ml extra virgin olive oil
• 400g eggplant, diced
• 400g butternut squash, diced
• 150g red onion, diced
• 300g celery, diced
• 150g fennel, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp chilli flakes, plus extra for garnishing
• 60ml red wine vinegar
• 60ml honey
• 50g capers
• 250ml pomodoro sauce
• 120g pitted and halved green olives
• 300g diced tomatoes
• 60g roasted pine nuts
• 60g currants
• 15g chopped basil, mint or parsley
• Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
• ½ lemon, juiced

Method:

1. Place half of the olive oil in a skillet over a medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant and butternut squash in batches until golden brown (do not crowd the pan as it will take the vegetables much longer to brown). Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Add the remaining olive oil to the same pan and sauté the onion, celery, fennel, garlic and bay leaf until everything is lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the chilli flakes and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the red wine vinegar, honey, capers and pomodoro sauce. Stir and bring to a gentle simmer. Continue simmering for 5 minutes over a low heat. Add the fried vegetables, olives, tomatoes, pine nuts, currants and chopped herbs. Stir well and remove from the heat.
4. Add a large pinch of salt and pepper, and a good spritz of fresh lemon juice to brighten the flavours. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Recipe taken from Como Simple