Caponata di melanzane

Caponata is the quintessential Sicilian summer dish. Served with some crusty white bread, it easily makes a satisfying main course. In Palermo, you'll find it in every rosticceria, where it's sold to take away alongside arancini, pane con la milza (pan di meusa), and panelle—all essential staples of the city's street food culture.

Caponata is best enjoyed slightly warm or at room temperature. It's an excellent make-ahead dish and relatively quick to prepare. Even after extensive research, we couldn't find a single documented "original" recipe. Instead, it seems that every Sicilian family has its own version. The only truly indispensable ingredients are eggplants, vinegar, sugar, and olive oil.

This is how we make ours:

Start by soaking the raisins in lukewarm water. Meanwhile, cut the eggplants into cubes, drizzle them generously with olive oil, and roast them in a 190°C (375°F) oven until nicely browned, about 25 minutes.

While the eggplants are roasting, finely dice the onion and garlic and sauté them in a generous splash of olive oil with a teaspoon of fennel seeds in a large pot. Next—what we consider an absolutely essential step—add two to three stalks of celery, diced. Then stir in the zucchini and olives. Once everything has softened and developed some color, add two tablespoons of tomato sauce, three tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and one tablespoon of brown sugar.

By now, the eggplants should be ready. Add them to the pot, season generously with salt and black pepper, and mix everything together.

Finally, once you've taken the pot off the heat, fold in about 400 g of fresh, coarsely diced beefsteak tomatoes, the drained raisins, two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, and plenty of fresh basil. Cover and let the caponata rest for at least two hours before serving.

Some wines that pair beautifully with this dish include Krimiso by Aldo Viola, Magico by Fabio Ferracane, and Strulli from Cantina Parasole.

Ingredients

• 2–3 large eggplants
• 2 zucchini
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2–3 stalks celery
• 400 g fresh tomatoes
• Fresh basil
• 50 g raisins
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 100 g pitted olives
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper