Caponata al Forno | The Food Maven

Caponata al Forno
(Baked Sweet and Sour Eggplant)

Makes about 7 cups

Think of the classic Sicilian caponata as a complex sweet and sour eggplant dish: fried eggplant cubes dressed with a tomato-based sauce containing celery, olives, capers, onions, and sometimes raisins and pine nuts or almonds. In the southeast corner of the siland, they often add red peppers. And often, mainly in Palermo and the cetner of the island, cocoa is added, a legacy of the Spanish who first brought chocolate to southern Italy from Mexico. In Palermo, they might also add fried fish cubes or balls. However it is made, caponata, which is also called caponatina, is usually served as an anitpasto, but it is also an excellent side dish when the main event is grilled meat or poultry.

Classic caponata can ber very oily, what with the eggplant sponging up its frying oil and sweet and sour sauce started with oil. The following contemporary baked version reaquires very little oil. It's the creation of my friend Franca Micelli in Siracusa.

1		large, preferably sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 1/2 cups)

3		medium red and/or yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups)

2		large celery ribs, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup)

1 or 3		medium or small eggplants (about 1 1/2 pounds), not peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

2		heaping tablespoons salted capers, well rinsed

3		large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped (about 1 tablespoon

1/4		cup extra-virgin olive oil

1		small (14 ounces) can peeled Italian tomatoes

2		tablespoons sugar

1		teaspoon salt, or slightly more to taste

2		tablespoons white wine or apple cider vinegar

1/2		cup cut-up, pitted Sicilian green olives

Preheat the oven to 400°F

In an approximately 11 by 15-inch roasting pan, combine the onion, peppers, celery, eggplant, capers, and garlic. Toss to mix.

Drizzle the olive oil over all the ingredients. Toss well again. Crush the tomatoes in your hand, letting them fall into the vegetables with all their juice. Add the sugar, salt and vinegar. Toss again.

Bake for 90 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and the juices in the pan have reduced and thickened. If necessary, bake a little longer. Stin in the olives and let cool.

Serve warm or at room temperature. The flavor develops after a day in the refrigerator. The caponata can be kept, tightly covered in the refrigerator, for at least a week.

- From The Southern Italian Table: Authentic Tastes from Traditional Kitchens
Clarkson Potter, 2009. 256p.

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