You'll love the combination of savory, sweet, and sour flavors in this creamy eggplant caponata with onions, tomato and olives! A great make-ahead appetizer to serve over crusty bread or use next to chicken or fish!
In Mediterranean cooking, there is no shortage of tasty eggplant recipes! Some favorites around here include eggplant rollatini; classic moussaka; and stuffed eggplant.
I'm excited to add one more tasty eggplant creation from Italy: Caponata!
You'll love the loads of texture and flavor in this vegan eggplant salad. And because it tastes better the next day, it's the perfect make-ahead appetizer to serve over crostini or toasted bread of your choice.
What is caponata?
Caponata Sicilian is one of Sicily's essential dishes. Pronounced ka·puh·naa·tuh, it is a vegetarian eggplant salad--more like a relish, really--made of eggplant, onions, bell pepper, celery and tomatoes with briny olives and capers.
There are variations of this tasty eggplant salad. Most are spiked with vinegar. Some call for raisins, which I love and use in this caponata recipe.
For a kick of sweetness, many recipes call for brown sugar, but I use a bit of honey, which is sufficient given the addition of raisins.
If you have them, add some toasted pine nuts at the very end.
Ratatouille vs. Caponata
Some describe caponata as the Sicilian version of ratatouille.
The two may have something in common as both use diced summer vegetables cooked with a bit of tomato. But, to me, ratatouille is more of a saucy stew, and the veggies will vary depending on what you have on hand.
Caponata is more of a salad or an appetizer that is altogether savory, sweet, and sour, thanks to the use of briny olives, salty capers, sweet raisins, and a spike of vinegar.
It's best served at room temperature topping some crusty bread. And it's also great as a relish to elevate your roast lamb, chicken or fish such as pan-seared salmon or trout.
What you'll need to make it?
The ingredients to make caponata are simple and readily available in most grocery stores. Together, they give this little vegetarian eggplant salad all sorts of beautiful texture and special flavor. Here's what you'll need:
- Eggplant: If you're wondering what kind of eggplant to use for caponata, you can use globe eggplant that is readily available in most supermarkets all year round. 1 large eggplant will be sufficient here.
- More vegetables: 1 yellow onion chopped, 1 red bell pepper cored and chopped, 2 small celery stalks thinly sliced
- Tomatoes: I use 1 cup crushed canned tomatoes here which add a ton of umami with less work.
- Greek olives and capers: these both add a bit of that briny salty flavor that distinguishes caponata from ratatouille or any other eggplant dish really. about ¼ cup pitted green olives and 2 tablespoons of capers.
- Sweet flavor makers: ¼ cup raisins and 2 teaspoons of honey (you can do more honey if you like yours on the sweeter side).
- 1 bay leaf
- Crushed red pepper flakes: I use about ½ teaspoon for an extra kick)
- Vinegar and wine: I used ¼ cup red wine vinegar and ¼ cup dry white wine (any dry white wine you have will do)
- Fresh herbs for garnish: a little bit of parsley and fresh mint, if you have them (2 tablespoons each).
Typically, capontata starts with frying cubed eggplant in a bit of oil until browned. While I love fried eggplant, in this case, I found roasting the cubes to offer the same result. Plus roasting is less hands-on, so I can work on the rest of the ingredients while the eggplant is roasting.
Once the eggplant is fully roasted, it's added to the pan with the rest of the ingredients which have been braising to create a tasty, sweet and sour base or sauce.
How to make caponata?
- Roast the eggplant. Cut the eggplant into 1-inch cubes and season with salt (I like to let my salted eggplant sit in a colander for a few minutes to sweat out any bitterness, but that is optional. If you do this, just be sure to pat the eggplant dry). Toss the eggplant with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil and spread on a large sheet pan. Roast in 400 degrees F heated-oven for about 25 to 30 minutes or until fully cooked and tender.
- Cook the onions, bell peppers and celery in a large skillet with a bit of extra virgin olive oil until softened. Season with salt.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce base. To the same skillet, add crushed tomatoes, capers, olives, raisins, honey, bay leaf and crushed pepper flakes. Stir in the vinegar and white wine. Stir to combine. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the eggplant. Since the eggplant is fully cooked, simply stir it in with the rest of the ingredients and allow it to cook for 2 to 3 minutes or so together, then finish with fresh parsley and mint.
Eggplant caponata is better the next day, but if you need to serve it on the same day, let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
If you love this caponata, then our equally delicious zaalouk is a must try. An eggplant dip with a Moroccan twist!
Storage
You can store caponata in the fridge in a tightly-closed mason jar for 5 days or so, or freeze it for later use. Bring it to room temperature before serving.
For all recipes, visit us here. JOIN MY FREE E-MAIL LIST HERE.
Caponata Recipe
Equipment
- Sheet Pan
- Braising pan or large skillet
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant 1 ¼ lb or so, cut into 1-inch cubes
- Kosher salt
- Extra virgin olive oil I used Private Reserve EVOO
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper cored and chopped
- 2 small celery stalks thinly sliced
- Black pepper
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon capers
- ¼ cup pitted green olives roughly chopped
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 teaspoons honey more to your liking
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup dry white wine
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Season the eggplant cubes with salt (if you have the time, set it aside in a colander to sweat out its bitterness for about 20 or 30 minutes, while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Pat dry with paper towel).
- Place the seasoned eggplant cubes on a sheet pan, add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (about 3 tablespoons or so) and toss to coat. Roast the eggplant in the heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until browned.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, bell pepper, and celery. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, tossing regularly until softened.
- Add the tomatoes, capers, olives, raisins, honey, bay leaf and crushed pepper flakes. Pour in the vinegar and white wine. Stir to combine. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the roasted eggplant and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes in the sauce. Finish with fresh parsley and mint.
Video
Notes
- Cook's Tip: Salting the eggplant and allowing it to sit for a few minutes helps it "sweat out" any bitterness and improves its spongy texture. a If you have the time, leave the salted eggplant in a colander for 20 minutes or so while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
- For best flavor: Let the caponata sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving, or store in the fridge overnight and serve cold or at room temperature. I like to serve it with toasted Italian bread such as ciabatta .
- If serving with toasted ciabatta: Slice the bread and brush each slice with a bit of extra virgin olive oil on both sides. Arrange on a sheet pan and toast in your heated oven for about 10 minutes until golden brown (I do this while the eggplant is roasting).
This looks great, but I'm not a fan of either olives or caper. To get the saltiness and "tang," what would you think of adding Feta?
Sounds delicious to me!
Made this tonight for an appetizer with Christmas Eve dinner. It is delicious! Everyone loved it and asked for the recipe! Followed the recipe to as written and it is perfect. Will definitely be making this again!
Wonderful! Thanks, Carly!
Can you use something besides capers? My family doesn’t like them!
Hi, there! I would just omit them you all are not fans. Enjoy!
Wonderful recipe! Thank you. I love using the Japanese eggplants that we grow, they're so easy to slice into bite-sized pieces!
Had this for dinner over orzo. Super delicious. I can’t have honey so I substituted maple syrup for it. I love the layers of sweet and sour flavors.
Thanks, Laura!
Can we skip the wine or use anything else ?
Hi, Az. You can try substituting the wine with a little bit of broth or even some water, if needed.
It has been too hot to turn on the oven, so I made this outside n my wok. I used 2 Japanese eggplants, and cut them about 3/4 inch, so they would cook a bit faster. The size and shape of the wok, and the high heat it can take worked great. I substituted currants for 1/2 the amount of raisins, and some roasted cherry tomatoes for the canned. It is delicious!!! My non-eggplant eater couldn't get enough of it!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Katie.
Made this tonight. Yum, even though I think I put too much honey in it, a little too sweet. Didn't have pine nuts so used walnuts and slivered almonds instead. Can't wait to try it tomorrow after it has "aged" a bit. I love your recipes!
Thanks for sharing your substitutions. So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this last night. Absolutely delicious. Much appreciated by my Persian husband and my Greek self. Looking forward to having it again this evening. Love your recipes. Thank you!
The recipe didn’t call for nuts of any kind, unless I just totally missed it on the list.
She writes to add toasted pine nuts at the very end if you have them. I can tell you they make all the difference, especially combined with the sweetness of the raisins and the whole sweet and sour taste. You won't regret it!
Thank you, Maria!
Thanks. I made it today for the second time. I didn't have raisins so I used some dates and apricots instead. I was wanting to add some walnuts, but didn't know it that was "a thing", so I will do that for a little extra texture. With the dates and apricots (and honey) it was a little sweet so I squirted some lemon juice in. I plan to freeze 1/2 of this. That worked out great for me before, tasted just as good.
Fabulous recipe. I skipped the raisins but did add toasted pine nuts 🙂 Thank you!
Ooo! Yum! Thanks for sharing, Martha!
I saw the nutritional values but what is the serving size upon which those values were based on.
Hi, Kenna! The whole recipe can be divided by 6 to get the "serving size". The nutrition info here is our best effort and we use a program that calculates that for us based on the ingredient list. The exact serving size measurement is another layer that's harder for us to precisely calculate at this time.
made this it was so good. toasted some bread and put this on top and sprinkled with cheese kids loved it was gone in one night.
Thanks, Carol!
I tried your recipe and never stopped cooking it since then. Simple, but so delicious. Thank you so much. Stay safe:)
Wonderful! Thanks, Roberta!
My Sicilian grandmother made caponata at the end of the season. Basically whatever was left after canning all the veg from the garden- throw in some tomato sauce, vinegar and honey. Done. It would slow cook all night then canned in the morning.like a thick relish. The vinegar and honey are spot on. Raisins were an expense so she never used them. But this recipe is also very close to the taste of my Nana’s. I added carrots as she always did. Good recipe!
Thank you, Darci!
Another big thumbs up from us! Our shops are having some stock shortages so inspired by the commenter whose mil says use what u gotta I used very finely sliced baby onions pickled in balsamic vinegar and skipped the capers, balsamic vinegar and wine. I added 1 teaspoon honey, no raisins. Still tasted delicious with a very complex and balanced mix of sweet, sour and savoury!!
Thanks for sharing your adaptations, Catherine! We do have to get a little creative sometimes these days!!
I am a 90 year old novice cook (my recently departed love of my life said cooking was her job and was superb) My only accomplishment was boiling water for breakfast tea and pushing down the toaster
I have enjoyed store-bought caponata so when I saw this recipe decided to try it. I didn’t have celery, but went ahead with everything else. Not rinsing the salted eggplant cubes concerned me, but I kept going. I thought that I had eaten caponata, but when I tasted this finished product I realized that no, I hadn’t eaten excellent caponata. This is it.
Thank you for your recipe .
Your chicken cacciatore is next
Thank you so much, Larry! And well done!! Can't wait to hear what you think of the cacciatore!
Delicious recipe! I made this today and was surprised how easy it was to make. I’ll never buy it again when I can make my own batch!
This is the first time I made caponata. This is so tasty and so easy to make. I usually have all the ingredients on hand. Thank you Suzy. Your recipes are amazing.
Thanks, Marina! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Thanks, Marina!