Sweet, sour, salty, and briny, caponata is a delightful dish that boldly wows your senses in the very first bite. In this recipe, I used sweet crunchy fennel stalks in place of the traditional celery, onions and garlic for a savory bite, briny little capers, sweet golden raisins to add a pop of sweetness along with super sweet and juicy (mostly golden) garden tomatoes, sauted with a bit of extra virgin olive oil with meaty eggplant to soak up all the good flavors. The lacy greens from the top of the fennel add extra herb-y goodness. Most people add olives. I’m not a lover of olives so I omitted them, but I am a little curious what this would taste like with olives added?

But even without the olives, I fell in love at first bite. In fact, I loved it SO much, I made the dish again the very next day, with RED tomatoes, since I have lots of fresh fennel stalks, tomatoes, and eggplant just waiting from the garden. Although the red was definitely prettier, I liked the flavor of the golden one more. They say caponata just gets better over time. I love that the vinegar helps to preserve it. I am, yes, a bit overwhelmed with garden goodness at the moment, but quite happy to have healthy, flavorful food on hand to munch on at any moment. Helloooo, my dear caponata … 🙂

Where does Caponata come from?

Caponata hails from the island of Sicily, and the recipes for caponata are as varied as there are cooks in Sicily (and now, all around the world). Feel free to experiment and add whatever fresh veggies you have on hand, but the quintessential ingredients that are pretty much ALWAYS used in caponata are:

Celery
Onion or shallots
Garlic
Tomato
Capers
Olives
Vinegar (or lemon juice) and olive oil
Eggplant

Raisins (or sultanas) are optional. Many cooks add different herbs such as basil or oregano, mint or red pepper. Even nuts sometimes come to play, pine nuts or almonds … and thinking of that, I’m wondering: why didn’t I think to stir in some of my beloved nuts? Some add carrots, bell pepper, potatoes, … let your imagination run wild! (Or hey, just use whatever you’ve got in your veggie drawer.) Some people add brown sugar or honey. Caponata is one dish where there are no strict rules–in fact, it seems that creativity is encouraged. Feel free to experiment and make it your own.

Why Caponata?

I think the quote that convinced me to try caponata is this:

“Sicilian cooking embraces contrast, discord, counterpoint, counterpunching, variance and the absence of delicacy … the dishes are as bold and baroque as any flamboyant building.”

In keeping with this philosophy, caponata is a vegetarian feast to be reckoned with, a clear example of what Del Conte describes as one of the key characteristics of Sicilian cuisine, where “a simple local ingredient, in this case the aubergine, is taken as the basis of the dish, and is then embellished and enriched until the end result is an opulent and almost baroque achievement”.

Opulent and baroque. Indeed!

How to eat caponata?

People enjoy caponata in a myriad of ways. Often served on toasts, as an appetizer in little bowls, or tossed with pasta (pictured here with zoodles.) When I served caponata to my parents, they exclaimed that it’s almost like a relish, and (for the meat eaters), that made me think it would be marvelous served alongside pork, chicken, or fish. Seriously, you can eat it cold right out of the fridge or bring it to room temp and serve on a charcuterie board with other assorted delicacies like Irish pub cheese (why not Ireland alongside Sicily?), or bacon tomato jam. Or skip all the fancy stuff … just grab a spoon and dive in.