Sicilian Eggplant Caponata
An Original Recipe by Not Quite Nigella
Serves 6-8
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Waiting time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
- 700-750g/26.5ozs. eggplant (smaller are better)
- 4 tablespoons salt
- 2 onions, peeled
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 410g/14oz. tin crushed tomatoes
- 1 large red capsicum, seeded
- 2 tomatoes
- 1.5 tablespoons capers (I used baby capers)
- 1 cup pitted black olives
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1.5 tablespoons sugar
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 30g/1ozs pine nuts, toasted
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Step 1 - Trim the eggplant and peel half of the eggplants (peeling them makes it a bit softer and gives the caponata a better texture- you can peel all of them if you want). Cut into small chunks and sprinkle with salt while it sits in a colander - this removes the bitterness. Stand for 15 minutes then rinse well. Steam the eggplant until starting to get soft and coloured brown.
Step 2 - While it is steaming, dice the onions and garlic. Then cut up the capsicum and tomatoes into small chunks. When the eggplant has finished steaming, heat a large pot on medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of oil. Fry the onion and garlic until fragrant and soft. Then add the eggplant, tinned and fresh tomatoes, capsicum, capers and black olives. Stir to mix and when it starts simmering, add the red wine vinegar and sugar. Simmer on medium heat for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables soften and develop a thick, glossy sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3 - I prefer letting this sit in the fridge for a day or two so that the flavours develop but you can serve this straight away too. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley.