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Caponata
![Caponata](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2008/09/04/health/nutrition/04recipe.health.ready/04recipe.health.ready-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus 1 hour's optional refrigeration
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1½pounds eggplant (1 large), roasted
- 2tablespoons olive oil
- 1medium onion, chopped
- 2stalks celery, from the inner, tender stalks (the heart), diced
- 3large garlic cloves, minced
- 2red bell peppers, diced
- Salt to taste
- 1pound ripe tomatoes, preferably romas, peeled, seeded and finely chopped, or 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes (in puree)
- 3heaped tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
- 3tablespoons coarsely chopped pitted green olives
- 2tablespoons plus a pinch of sugar
- 3tablespoons red or white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (more to taste)
- freshly ground pepper to taste
Preparation
- Step 1
Roast the eggplant, allow to cool and chop coarsely.
- Step 2
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy nonstick skillet and add the onion and celery. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes, and add the garlic. Cook together for a minute, until the garlic begins to smell fragrant, and add the peppers and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook, stirring, until just about tender, about 8 minutes. Add another tablespoon of oil and the eggplant, and stir together for another 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. The eggplant will fall apart, which is fine. Season to taste.
- Step 3
Add the tomatoes to the pan with about ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan often, for 5 to 10 minutes, until the tomatoes have cooked down somewhat and they smell fragrant. Add the capers, olives, remaining sugar, and vinegar. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are thoroughly tender and the mixture is quite thick, sweet, and fragrant. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. If possible, cover and chill overnight. Serve at room temperature.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I peel the eggplant (leaving small strips of the peel on) and cut it into 1" cubes. Lay them on a large baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes remove from the oven and turn or stir the pieces. Back I. The oven for about 20 minutes more until the eggplant is tender and some of the pieces are caremelized. Cool slightly before priceeding with the recipe.
I made this but don't roast the eggplant separately. I chop all the veggies and slow roast them all in a pot. Roasting until tender. One day I accidentally left the pan on low for far too long- The bottom was deliciously caramelized. I was going to toss but my wife, the Sicilian, said "scrape it up and mix it together". It was even better. I also add pine nuts once its cooked.
I have a recipe from my Great Grandmother that is just delicious. I cube my eggplant and fry them in Olive oil until golden brown. Then I also sauté onions red, green and orange bell peppers along with celery. Keep your olive oil and veggies together. I boil on the stove one half cup of red wine vinegar one half cup of water and one half cup of sugar. This makes a syrup to add to the mixture. Also 1 cup of tomato’s
I love caponata. You don't need to roast the eggplant though, you can saute it with the garlic and onions and brown it a little. I also love to add golden raisins to the sauce. It adds a nice look and little pops of sweetness to the sauce.
Great recipe. Cutting and prep takes time, and steps just take time- but very easy... so well worth it. My favorite restaurant serves eggplant caponata over a bed of green beans, with a lovely salmon fillet on top--- it is to die for. Amazing combination of flavors. This recipe is delicious. I doubled batch, and freeze several containers. Really yummy.
I've been making Caponata & canning it as my Mother did for years. I use a good tomato paste! Never tomatoes, garlic or peppers. Peppers tend to overwhelm the rest of the ingredients. This is a classic recipe from the Agrigento provence of Sicily.
This is by far the best caponata recipe I have ever made, and I've made quite a few! The roasted eggplant is a brilliant touch. The only modification I would offer is toasting 1/3-cup of pine nuts and adding to caponata as it come off the stove.
Lovely recipe. I double and freeze a batch for future enjoyment! Great for breakfast with an egg. Ms. Shulman is a master!
I used to buy Progresso caponata in little cans for a quick appetizer--it seems to have vanished--but this is much better. I too cut the sugar by 2/3, roasted 1 inch cubes tossed in olive oil at 425, turned once. It was done in under 15 minutes (but it was white eggplant, a little softer than purple) and added close to the end because it was so soft. Excellent on Carr's Water Crackers for snacks with drinks.
Ha-ha, Barbara, in the 80s I constructed a caponata recipe from the ingredients listed on that small Progresso can.
We roasted two small eggplants at 425 for 20 min, then cut it into cubes unpeeled and cooked on the stove before adding other ingredients. You could also peel it, cut it up, and roast it in cubes. It was dry with just fresh tomatoes, so I added a few canned plum tomatoes with a little juice. Also, I added some golden raisins near the end of the cooking time and garnished with chopped parsley and basil.
Can I just say, “roast the eggplant” is not a terribly helpful instruction in a recipe. Roast it how? Whole? Chopped? With oil? At what heat? For how long?
It’s a perfect side dish during Passover. It tastes great On matzah.
Never peel eggplant! If you do it becomes mushy!
This recipe is brilliant! Best with garden fresh tomatoes. My humble addition is to cube the eggplant and throw on an electric grill with wood chips, which adds a subtle and heavenly smokiness.
Add 1/3 c raisins and 1/4 cup pine nuts
1/3 cup of raisins add a wonderful touch. Some pine nuts also are great.
I’ve been making this recipe since it was first published in the NYT years ago. It is really terrific and forgiving in quantities and types of vegetables used. I prefer the long, variegated eggplants. No red peppers? Green, orange, and yellow all work. Personally, I prefer to err on the side of more rather than less tomato.
Delicious! I used one tbs of sugar instead of two and replaced one bell pepper with some chopped artichoke hearts.
I just returned from Sicily two days ago and I had to make caponata immediately we loved it there so much. Caponata was not consistent in Sicily, apparently each cook, family recipe, or area seems to vary the ingredients to some degree. This is a good overall recipe but in the variety of preparations we experienced it’s missing at least one basic ingredient — tomato paste — which I added and this pulled it together to taste very close to what we were eating and enjoying so much.
A little less sugar for my taste.
I roast the eggplant and toss it in at the end.
Full flavors of the ingredients meld together to make a delicious appetizer as shown or a wonderful topping for grilled fish or chicken. I peeled and diced the eggplant in 1/2" pieces, tossed them with a generous 2 T. of olive oil, roasted them on 2 baking sheets @ 425° until browned about 20 min. Diced peppers, onion celery about the same size, sautéed all in the skillet at once with heated generous T. of olive oil, added garlic & continued as per recipe. It yields a lot!
Fabulous, lots of big flavor. The preparation time is lengthy, peeling/cubing/roasting the eggplant and chopping veggies brought it to WAY more than an hour. But definitely worth it. Being a 2 person household, I ended up needing to freeze half of it. Now I'm thawing it out to serve with Thanksgiving meal, I think it will be a good complement to the turkey.
This was fantastic. Great on baguette with Buratta and on a ciabatta roll sandwich with mutz and cress.
For those who wonder about, "Roast the eggplant..." here's a link to NYT recipe by Ms. Shulman: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016442-roasted-eggplant?algo=identity&fellback=true&imp_id=4623381446643304&req_id=934670607316186&surface=cooking-search-web&variant=0_relevance_reranking It worked beautifully - one of the comments is correct: this is roasting, & the olive oil doesn't burn because it doesn't get too hot. Just browns the underside of the eggplant to caramelized perfection.
Makes excellent “pizza” if you spread it on rosemary flatbread and bake for just a few minutes right on the rack. Add whatever cheese you like, cubed feta etc. Or a sprinkle of grated hard cheese.
I had pomegranate molasses or balsamic, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and sometimes a handful or two of raisins. And I prefer it with oil cured black olives. It’s also really important to serve it with bucketloads of chopped herbs.
Delicious at any temperature. Read a few comments before tackling for the first time (you WILL go back and do it again and again), for ways to be flexible with this tasty combination of flavors. I wish I had made more!
To get the author’s instructions, go to the recipe’s introduction and click on “caponata” at the bottom. On that page, click on “roasted.” Summary: Cut off ends, slice in half lengthwise, score, brush w oil, roast cut side down 20-25 min (until soft but not collapsed), drain 15-30 min [for Japanese eggplant, no scoring and roast 15 min]
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