Italian · Sicily · side

Caponata Siciliana

Caponata Siciliana reads sweetness 6.1, salinity 5.1 and sourness 4.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Italian · Sicily side, about 1 hr 27 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 6.8 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 4.3 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 3.2 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.8 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 6.1 · Salinity 5.1 · Sourness 4.1 · Nutty 3.7 · Richness 3.7 · Umami 3.7 · Allium 3.0 · Earthy 2.9 · Marine & Briny 2.4 · Fruity 2.3 · Bitterness 2.0 · Herbaceous 1.9 · Floral 1.5 · Funk & Ferment 1.5 · Warm Spice 1.2 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (14)

• eggplant — 800 g
• salt — 10 g
• extra virgin olive oil — 138 g
• celery stalks — 200 g
• onions — 200 g
• passata — 200 g
• green olives — 100 g
• capers — 40 g
• pine nuts — 30 g
• sultanas — 30 g
• white wine vinegar — 60 g
• caster sugar — 40 g
• fresh basil — 15 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 3 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 27 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 54.2 kcal, 1.1 g protein, 2.1 g fat, 8.3 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. Salt the aubergine cubes in a colander for 45 minutes, then squeeze them gently and pat them dry. This is not optional: the salt collapses the cell walls so the aubergine fries instead of soaking.
2. Heat 100 ml of the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat and fry the aubergine in two batches, 6 to 7 minutes a batch, turning until every face is browned and the cubes have shrunk by a third and gone glossy. Lift them out onto kitchen paper.
3. Blanch the celery in boiling water for 3 minutes, until it bends without snapping, and drain it. This keeps it crisp-tender in the finished dish rather than woody.
4. Add the remaining 50 ml oil to the pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat for 12 minutes, until soft and sweet with no colour. Add the drained celery and cook 3 minutes more.
5. Pour in the passata and simmer 8 minutes, until it thickens and coats the vegetables. Stir in the olives, capers, pine nuts and sultanas and cook 2 minutes.
6. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a cup, pour it over the pan and let it bubble hard for 3 to 4 minutes with the heat up, until the sharp smell of raw vinegar has gone and what is left smells rounded and sweet-sour. This evaporation is the agrodolce; if you can still smell raw vinegar it is not finished.
7. Fold the fried aubergine back in with the black pepper, take the pan off the heat and stir through the basil. Caponata is served at room temperature, and it is better on the second day, once the sweet and the sour have stopped arguing.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers with Herbed Rice, Pine Nuts, and Raisins — Greek
• Greek Turkey and Rice Stuffed Peppers — Greek
• Xoi (Sticky Rice) — Vietnamese
• Sheet-Pan Teriyaki Salmon and Vegetables — Japanese
• Vegetable Lo Mein — Chinese-American

Keep reading: what sweetness, salinity, sourness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.