This classic Sicilian sweet and sour style ratatouille it’s meant to be served at room temperature or cold. Like most eggplant dishes, this gets better overnight.
Author:Riccardo
Prep Time:20
Cook Time:20
Total Time:40 minutes
Yield:6
Ingredients
4 medium-size black eggplants/aubergines
3 large sticks of celery with leaves, cut into ½-inch pieces.
100 g of pitted green olives
1 tablespoon of capers, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon of pine nuts
1 cup of canned or bottled crushed tomato
1/4 glass of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of sugar (10 g)
10 leaves of basil
50 g of peeled almonds (optional)
1 onion
1 tablespoon of raisins, soaked in warm water and drained (optional)
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Wash the eggplant/aubergines and cut them into ½-inch cubes.
Using plenty of hot oil, cook the eggplant/aubergines in two batches, turning a few times (10-15 minutes each batch). When they are golden and soft, drain them on kitchen paper. Set aside.
In the same pan, gently stir-fry the onion and half the chopped celery in 5 tablespoons of oil (5 minutes). Do not let this brown.
Add the tomato, basil leaves, olives, capers, pine nuts and the raisins.
Season with salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat.
Pour in the vinegar and add the sugar; stir and allow to evaporate a little (1 minute).
Add the cooked aubergines and the other half of the chopped celery to the sauce; reduce on a medium heat for 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat.
Allow to cool.
Serve the caponata cool or chilled, sprinkled with toasted and chopped almonds if you like.