This Eggplant Caponata is a delicious Italian relish made with eggplant, onion, garlic, tomato, pine nuts, olives, raisins, capers and parsley. Perfect spread or dip for grissini!
Caponata is a wonderful Italian eggplant relish that can be used as a spread, as a dip for breadsticks, or as a sauce for pasta.
There are as many eggplant caponata recipes as there are chefs! There are two main methods of preparation – finely chopped and used as a relish on bread or polenta, or coarsely chopped and served almost like an Italian version of ratatouille.
The only constants in caponata are eggplant, onion, olive oil, vinegar, and some type of tomato product, either tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes, or both.
You can also add pine nuts, raisins, capers, olives, celery, basil, paprika, garlic, parsley and/or oregano. Feel free to play with combinations of ingredients to see what suits your taste!
Tucked away in funky Bernal Heights, my old San Francisco neighborhood, used to be an Italian trattoria that served exceptional Italian cuisine. The restaurant is long gone, but I still fondly remember the aubergine caponata condiment they served with breadsticks that accompanied every meal.
I have no idea if the caponata recipe below is even close to the restaurant’s recipe, but it’s certainly on the right track.
If you don’t eat all of the caponata at once, it will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days and is even better on the second or third day after the flavors have had a chance to blend.
- eggplant caviar
- Baba Ganoush
- Eggplant caponata pasta
Kaponata
Our version of caponata is finely diced, like a relish. Serve on toasted or grilled bread, or with pasta or polenta.
ingredients
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1 ball eggplant – about 1 pound, diced
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Salt
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4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
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1 small onion, chopped
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1 stick of celery, chopped
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1 garlic clove, chopped
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4-6 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
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1/2 cup pitted green olives, finely chopped
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1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
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2 to 3 tablespoons small capers, drained
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1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
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1/4 cup red wine vinegar
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2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar
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1 tablespoon tomato paste
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1/4 cup chopped basil
method
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Toss the aubergines with salt, drain:
Mix the diced aubergines with about 2 tablespoons of salt and place in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate that just fits on top of the bowl and weigh it down with a heavy can. Let this sit for 1 hour.
Drain the eggplant, rinse with clear water and pat dry with kitchen paper.
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Cooking onions, celery, garlic:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery, salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens – about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic. Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
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Fry eggplant:
Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, turn up the heat, and add the remaining olive oil. Leave this heat until the oil is almost smoking.
Add the aubergines and spread them in the pan in as thin a layer as possible. Let this sizzle for 1-2 minutes before stirring, then let sit for a full minute before stirring again. Cook like this for 5-6 minutes.
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Combine with other ingredients:
Add the onion and celery mixture, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts, capers and red pepper flakes. Mix well. Add the vinegar, sugar and tomato paste and stir again.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is very tender, about 8 minutes.
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Let cool, add basil, salt, pepper:
Remove from the stove and let cool to room temperature. Mix in the basil. Season with salt and pepper.
Caponata can be kept refrigerated and covered for up to 5 days.
