Caponata
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Caponata is a sweet and sour vegetable dish from the Sicilian cuisine .
The ingredients and the preparation of the caponata can vary slightly depending on the region. The main ingredients are eggplant and tomatoes . There are also onions and a little garlic, as well as mostly celery. First, the finely chopped onion and garlic are gently steamed in olive oil. Then the eggplants cut into cubes are fried. Finally, add the peeled and cut tomatoes and pieces of celery (or fennel) blanched in salted water, and everything is braised to the end. An agrodolce is made in a saucepan by melting sugar, caramelizing it and adding vinegar to it; this liquid is added to the vegetables to give them a sweet and sour taste. Almonds, pine nuts, capers and olives can also be added.
Caponata is served cold as an antipasto or warm as an intermediate course or side dish to pasta or fish served without sauce (e.g. grilled). If the caponata is served cold, it can be enriched with tuna pickled in oil. Sometimes it is served on croutons or rusk-like hard bread that soaks up the juice of the caponata.
A particularly rich variant is Caponata San Bernardo , which comes from the monks of a monastery in Catania . The warm vegetables are doused with a sauce made from dark chocolate and roasted almonds and garnished with hard-boiled, sliced eggs and fresh olives.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rotraud Degner: This is how Italy cooks. The best recipes from 19 regions of Italy and their wines. 4th edition Bonn 1979.
