Caponata
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| Alternative names | Capunata |
|---|---|
| Type | Salad |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Sicily |
| Main ingredients | Aubergine/eggplant |
| Ingredients generally used | Celery |
| Variations | Cianfotta |
Caponata (Sicilian: capunata) is a Sicilian dish consisting of chopped fried eggplant/aubergine and other vegetables, seasoned with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers, in an agrodolce sauce.[1]
Variants may add carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins.[2]
A Palermo version adds octopus, and an aristocratic recipe includes lobster and swordfish garnished with wild asparagus, grated dried tuna roe and shrimp.[3] These are exceptions to the general rule of a sweet and sour cooked vegetable stew or salad.
Today, caponata is typically used as a side dish for fish dishes and sometimes as an appetizer, but since the 18th century it has also been used as a main course.
Caponata is historically associated with Sicily's Jewish community, and is sometimes still referred to as caponata alla giudia.[4]
A similar Neapolitan dish is called "cianfotta". The dish is also popular in Tunisian cuisine.
Etymology
[edit]The etymology of the name is not reliably known. Some suggest it derives from the Catalan language, others that it comes from the caupone, the sailors' taverns.[5] The dishes described by Wright would suggest that in the past the Sicilian dish was similar to the Genoese capponata.
See also
[edit]
- List of Sicilian dishes
- List of stews
- List of eggplant dishes
- Eggplant salads and appetizers
- Ratatouille
References
[edit]- ^ Gangi, Roberta (2006). "Caponata". Best of Sicily Magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ^ Shulman, Martha Rose. "Caponata Recipe". NYT Cooking. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
- ^ Phillips, Kyle. "Caponata alla Siciliana-The Baroness of Carni's Caponata". Archived from the original on 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
- ^ Baur, Joe (2023). "Caponata alla giudia: Sicilian aubergine and vegetable stew". BBC. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
- ^ Wright, Clifford A. (2008). "A History of the Sicilian Caponata". Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
External links
[edit]
- The traditional Sicilian eggplant caponata recipe Archived 2019-02-14 at the Wayback Machine
