Last time I was in Sicily, at the beginning of October, my friend's mom made me one of the traditional hot dish they eat during fall or winter, the caponata. It consists of a cooked vegetable salad made from chopped fried eggplant seasoned with vinegar, capers, olives and celery, which is added to round out the flavors. I am in love with it, due to its particular agrodolce taste: it's a mix of sugar and vinager, it couldn't be any better!
The caponata is usually served as appetizer, at room temperature, but back in time, in the 18th century, it was considered a main course.
What American tourists like the most is the taste of fresh olives, which are different than the ones they have there, which are the Spanish ones, sold in jars. Ours are not that soggy, they are richer, firmer and more pungent.
Caponata: the etymology of the name
1. the word comes from the Catalan word caponada, which means "something tied together like vines";
2. the word comes from the Catalan expression capón de galera, which is a gazpacho or a caponata-like dish usually served shipboard. It consisted of a pound of bread crust soaked in water and put in a sauce of anchovy bones, garlic, and vinegar, sugar, salt and olive oil and letting it soften;
3. the dish was born shipboard as a mariner's breakfast because of the large amount of vinegar used;
4. the word derives from the Latin word caupo, the sailor's tavern.
Photo found on foodnetwork.com
Caponata: the recipe
If you can't wait to go to Sicily to try the one and only caponata, try to make it at home! What a perfecr excuse to invite friends over or to have a traditional Italian dinner. When I was in Houston, TX, my host family- yes, I had the great chance to study in the US as an exchange student!- decided to make it for Thanksigiving, in order to have some different than the ordinary vegetables.
The recipe we used is pretty similar to the one published by The Italian Dish, which you can read and print HERE.
Photo found on Vanity Fair
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