Caponata Updated in September 2023

Ingredients

• 1 aubergine, diced in 2 cm cubes
• 1 zucchini, diced in 2 cm cubes
• 1 red onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, cut in 2 cm chunks
• 150 g tomatoes, or 1 large tomato
• 150 ml tomato purée
• 40 g green olives, halved
• 40 g raisins
• 40 g almonds, toasted and salted
• 30 g capers
• 1 tbsp dark chocolate, grated
• 75 ml red wine vinegar
• 200 ml sunflower oil, or vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Salt
• Bread, to serve

Preparation

1. Dice the aubergine and the zucchini in 2 cm cubes, lightly salt, then leave to rest in a colander for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat sunflower oil in a pan. You need enough oil to fry the vegetables. It should be hot enough to instantly brown a breadcrumb.
3. Fry the aubergine and zucchini in batches until golden. Let the oil get hot again between batches. Let the fried cubes dry on paper towels or table clothes.
4. In a separate pot, brown the onion and celery in olive oil with a pinch of salt.
5. When the onion and celery begin to colour, add red pepper flakes. Fry for another minute.
6. Add tomatoes and fry for an extra 3 minutes.
7. Stir in the capers, olives, raisins, sugar, tomato purée, red wine vinegar and chocolate.
8. Bring to a boil, then add the fried aubergine and zucchini.
9. Season with salt, turn heat down, cover, and leave to simmer for 1 hour.
10. Let the caponata cool to room temperature, then season again as needed.
11. Serve cold with fresh bread.

This recipe is adapted from The Guardian’s caponata recipe. After a few iterations, I believe I got the right mix.

A few notes about this recipe:

• This caponata is slightly spicy, but not hot.
• Sunflower oil is totally worth the extra expense.