Sicilian Caponata

Name: Sicilian Caponata
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Aubergine/Eggplant: 1 kg of; Vegetable oil: for frying; Помидор свежий: 200 g of; Celery rib: 200 g of; Onion: 250 g of; Green olives: 200 g of; Capers: 50 g of; Pine nuts: 50 g of; Extra Virgin olive oil: 3 tbsp. of; Basil leaves: 2 handfuls of; Tomato paste: 30 g of; White wine vinegar 5%: 30 g of; Sugar white: 30 g of

Features:

Cuisine:

Italian

Serves 8
Medium

Ingredients

1 kg of Aubergine/Eggplant
for frying Vegetable oil
refined oil
200 g of Помидор свежий
200 g of Celery rib
250 g of Onion
200 g of Green olives
green seedless olives
50 g of Capers
50 g of Pine nuts
3 tbsp. of Extra Virgin olive oil
2 handfuls of Basil leaves
Dressing:
30 g of Tomato paste
30 g of White wine vinegar 5%
30 g of Sugar white
Or 60 g of trehalose

Directions

Caponata is a traditional dish from Sicily. Now, the caponata is cooked all over Italy, but everywhere it is different. We were recently in Padua, Northern Italy and we bought a caponata at a culinary shop, which was just grilled vegetables.

We will cook the classic Sicilian version of the dish. Then you can change it according to your own taste. Classic Sicilian caponata suggests a pronounced sour and sweet profile to this dish. Therefore, the vegetables are dressed in equal proportions of sugar and vinegar at the end. Eggplants and tomatoes are the base of this dish. It also includes olives, capers, pine nuts and basil.

It’s delicious! I recommend you try it!

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Steps

1 Done	Dice the eggplants into large cubes of 2 to 3 cm. Then place them in a colander, sprinkle with coarse salt and let them rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Moreover, if previously, this procedure was explained by the need to get rid of eggplant bitterness, now the eggplant varieties are no longer bitter. However, for our dish, we will fry eggplants in oil so we need to get rid of excess moisture.
2 Done	While the eggplants are draining, slice the onion into thin half rings and cut the celery stalks into 3 mm thick slices. Also, dice the tomatoes into large 2 to 3 cm cubes and cut the green seedless olives in half. Drain the marinade and measure the capers. If salted, rinse them from excess salt and squeeze out the excess moisture.
3 Done	Roast the pine nuts until golden in a dry pan.
4 Done	Pour a 4 to 5 cm layer of vegetable oil into a small saucepan or pan with a thick bottom and walls. Although I don't usually use refined oil in cooking, that's the exact situation where refined olive oil would be the best option. When the oil is well heated, fry the eggplants in portions until golden brown, then put them in a colander to drain the excess oil. Set the cooked eggplants aside for now.
5 Done	In a thick-bottomed cauldron or pot with a lid, preheat 3 tbsp of olive oil. Here, you can already use Extra Virgin. Add the onions and sauté them over medium heat until soft, for about 10 minutes. Then add the celery and sauté them together for another 5 minutes. Add the olives, capers, tomatoes and pine nuts. Then, sauté them all together for a few minutes. After that, add some salt, cover and simmer all the vegetables on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.
6 Done	While the vegetables are stewing, mix the tomato paste, sugar and vinegar. Add this sauce to the cooked vegetables, increase the heat to medium and sauté while stirring until the smell of the vinegar is gone. Now, add the eggplants and stir while seasoning with salt to taste. We now add the basil leaves to the prepared dish and mix it. Then, put it in a glass or ceramic container, let it cool and place it in the fridge. Caponata is best served cold and the next day. But, you can eat it right away and warm, whichever you prefer. The appetizer keeps well in the fridge for about a week. Bon Appétit!