Recipe Caponata Siciliana

karadekoolaid

karadekoolaid

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Ingredients:
500 gms aubergine
1 medium courgette
1 large red onion
2 sticks celery
150 gms ripe tomato
40 gms capers in vinegar
40 gms black olives
40 gms raisins or sultanas
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp chile flakes
150 mls passata
100 mls red wine vinegar
olive oil
1-2 tsps grated dark chocolate
salt to taste
mint or basil leaves

Method:
  • Cut the aubergine, courgette and red onion into pieces about 1/2 to 3/4 inch square. (You can cut them a bit bigger if you prefer "texture"). Chop the celery into small pieces and cut the tomatoes small.
  • Put some oil (depends if you like a lot, like me, or little) into a pan and heat on medium. Gently fry the aubergines and onion until barely soft. When softened, add the celery and tomato and mix well together.
  • Now add the capers, the olives (cut into pieces) ,the raisins, the sugar, the passata, the vinegar and a little more olive oil. Add about a tsp of salt and stir well.
  • Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15- 20 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
  • Add the grated chocolate and a few torn mint or basil leaves. Simmer for about 5 more minutes, and check on the salt, adding more if necessary.
  • Taste: you should have a slightly sweet/sour/spicy /herby mixture.
  • Serve warm or cold, or use as a sauce for pasta.
  • Caponata 1.jpg
 
karadekoolaid said:
The controversy on this antipasto is : garlic, or no garlic? ALL the Sicilians I've ever spoken to say NO.
Click to expand...

This is copied from the recipe challenge thread. Where and how would garlic be introduced if you were using it? Grated or slivered? Roasted or raw? I like any excuse to include garlic in a recipe, particularly when Italian cuisine is involved.
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
Where and how would garlic be introduced if you were using it?
Click to expand...
IF I put garlic in it , I'd probably just slice it.
When I first made this back in 2008, it was for an Italian restaurant. I researched the "authentic" version (including struggling my way through recipes in Italian, which I don't speak) and found that mostly, it was "senza aglio".
About an hour after I'd made the first batch, a Sicilian lady came into my kitchen. "Caaaaponata!" she exclaimed. Tried it and said " Buonissimo! Very authentic! NO gaarlic, because it is cardinal sin!!"
Two hours later, another Sicilian lady came in, tried it , and said " You mean you didn't put garlic in it????"
There's no reason why it shouldn't have garlic in it except:
If you do, the 'Ndrangheta will pursue you, your family, your friends and even your pets, for the rest of your born days.
:hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper: :hyper:
 
karadekoolaid said:
Ingredients:
500 gms aubergine
1 medium courgette
1 large red onion
2 sticks celery
150 gms ripe tomato
40 gms capers in vinegar
40 gms black olives
40 gms raisins or sultanas
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp chile flakes
150 mls passata
100 mls red wine vinegar
olive oil
1-2 tsps grated dark chocolate
salt to taste
mint or basil leaves

Method:
  • Cut the aubergine, courgette and red onion into pieces about 1/2 to 3/4 inch square. (You can cut them a bit bigger if you prefer "texture"). Chop the celery into small pieces and cut the tomatoes small.
  • Put some oil (depends if you like a lot, like me, or little) into a pan and heat on medium. Gently fry the aubergines and onion until barely soft. When softened, add the celery and tomato and mix well together.
  • Now add the capers, the olives (cut into pieces) ,the raisins, the sugar, the passata, the vinegar and a little more olive oil. Add about a tsp of salt and stir well.
  • Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15- 20 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.
  • Add the grated chocolate and a few torn mint or basil leaves. Simmer for about 5 more minutes, and check on the salt, adding more if necessary.
  • Taste: you should have a slightly sweet/sour/spicy /herby mixture.
  • Serve warm or cold, or use as a sauce for pasta.
  • View attachment 100392
Click to expand...

Not sure about dark chocolate but it definitely looks delicious.
I’m wondering if the recipes you found didn’t mention any pine nuts..?
 
MypinchofItaly said:
Not sure about dark chocolate but it definitely looks delicious.
I’m wondering if the recipes you found didn’t mention any pine nuts..?
Click to expand...
I can't remember exactly which recipe (s) I used as a base. Probably an investigation/comparison of about half a dozen from Italian websites, and I came to a "consensus" as to the ingredients.
Where the chocolate came from, I don't know.Same with the pine nuts/no pine nuts. I can only guess that dishes like Caponata were originally very local recipes so there's probably no authentic source, just certain indications.
Sicily was an interesting port of call in the 16th and 17th centuries, so it's quite possible that some of the chocolate from Mexico, or even Venezuela (some of the first chocolatiers in Venezuela came from Corsica) might have found its way to Sicily. I've got another great recipe for a BBQ sauce from Steve Raichlan's book " How to Grill". It's for grilled radicchio with a chocolate, balsamic, honey and pine nut sauce. He says it's Venetian.
Pine nuts? I might just add some the next time, although they're prohibitively expensive over here!
 
karadekoolaid said:
I can't remember exactly which recipe (s) I used as a base. Probably an investigation/comparison of about half a dozen from Italian websites, and I came to a "consensus" as to the ingredients.
Where the chocolate came from, I don't know.Same with the pine nuts/no pine nuts. I can only guess that dishes like Caponata were originally very local recipes so there's probably no authentic source, just certain indications.
Sicily was an interesting port of call in the 16th and 17th centuries, so it's quite possible that some of the chocolate from Mexico, or even Venezuela (some of the first chocolatiers in Venezuela came from Corsica) might have found its way to Sicily. I've got another great recipe for a BBQ sauce from Steve Raichlan's book " How to Grill". It's for grilled radicchio with a chocolate, balsamic, honey and pine nut sauce. He says it's Venetian.
Pine nuts? I might just add some the next time, although they're prohibitively expensive over here!
Click to expand...

I think you found a personal recipe of someone who gives its variation to Caponata because chocolate is not an ingredient of it… although I have to say on a side note that there is an ancient recipe from Amalfi coast where they make a dessert made with aubergine and chocolate and yes, it’s simply delicious.
Back to Caponata, I am a bit surprised that they didn’t mention pine nuts since it’s a staple in Sicilian cuisine and Caponata too.
 
Last edited:
MypinchofItaly said:
Back to Caponata, I am a bit surprise that they didn’t mention pine nuts since it’s a staple in Sicilian cuisine and Caponata too.
Click to expand...
Your comment got me thinking about pine nuts - and chocolate!
I went back over my recipes, dating back to 2004. Sure enough, the first time I made Caponata, it had pine nuts in it. That was in 2009. When I copied the recipe again, I completely forgot to add them, so thank you kindly for reminding me, and the recipe has now been duly amended!
As for the chocolate, it was a suggestion from a local chef who'd worked 5 years in Sicily, and had added his own personal "touch". I must have liked it,
so thank you once again!!
 
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