Sicilian Caponata
Sicilian sweet-and-sour aubergine with celery, olives and capers, finished with vinegar and sugar. Served at room temperature, and better on the second day than the first.
Photograph credit: Pizzeria Bella Italia (Crépieux-la-Pape) - caponata (1) (février 2020) by Benoît Prieur · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Frying each vegetable separately keeps their textures distinct — cooked together they collapse into one soft mass. The agrodolce goes in at the end and is boiled hard for a minute so the vinegar's harshness cooks off and only the sweet-sour balance remains.
Questions About Sicilian Caponata
How long does Sicilian Caponata take to make?
20 minutes of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking, plus 2 hours of resting, so allow 3 hours from start to finish. The method also needs time for cooling to room temperature, which it does not time, so treat that as a minimum. The recipe serves 6.
Photograph credit: Pizzeria Bella Italia (Crépieux-la-Pape) - caponata (2) (février 2020) by Benoît Prieur · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Sicilian Caponata: Step by Step
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Salt the aubergine cubes in a colander for 30 minutes, then rinse and pat thoroughly dry.
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Fry the aubergine in half the olive oil over high heat, in batches so the pan is never crowded, until deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
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In the same pan, fry the celery for 6 minutes until it softens but keeps its bite. Remove.
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Add the remaining oil and cook the onion for 10 minutes until soft and sweet.
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Add the tomatoes and simmer 12 minutes until thick and no longer watery.
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Return the celery, add the olives, capers and raisins, and cook 5 minutes.
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Stir the vinegar and sugar together, pour it in, and boil hard for 1 minute — this is what drives off the raw vinegar.
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Fold the aubergine back in gently and take off the heat. Season with the salt.
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Cool to room temperature, then fold through the basil and pine nuts. Rest at least 2 hours before serving.
Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.
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Tips That Matter
- Fry the vegetables separately. Every shortcut here costs you the texture the dish is about.
- It is meant to be eaten at room temperature, never hot and never fridge-cold.
- Make it a day ahead. The agrodolce needs time to settle into the aubergine.
Pairs Well With
Crusty bread · Grilled fish or lamb · A chilled Sicilian white such as Grillo
Keeping and Reheating
Refrigerate up to 5 days — it improves. Bring fully to room temperature before serving.
The Numbers per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.
Your notes on this recipe
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Compiled by Turab
Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.
First published ; last changed .
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