Many of my most memorable dinner parties have always started with antipasti – a small but sumptuous spread of intensely-flavoured dishes that keeps guests grazing, pouring and gathering around a shared table. A simple Sicilian aubergine caponata is always my go-to recipe to have amidst my antipasti spread.

It’s naturally vegetarian, a study in contrasts – tender aubergine married with briny olives and capers in a sweet and sour “agrodolce” tomato sauce. Agrodolce flavours (sweet, sour, tart) are signature to Sicily’s Arab-Norman cooking history, with the versatility of aubergine as an ingredient reflective of the island’s rich legacy of absorbing the techniques and ingredients of every civilisation that landed on its shores.

I love pairing aubergine caponata with warm focaccia or a crusty sourdough, to sop up every last tangy bite. Although I won’t judge you if you stir it through your leftover pasta.

How To Make Aubergine Caponata

Ask four Sicilian grandmothers for their aubergine caponata recipe and you’ll get six answers, most of them delivered with the same conviction. This is a dish with no one correct form – every family, town and coastline seems to have claimed a version as the true one.

Traditional recipes lean on celery, capers, raisins and pine nuts for their sweet-sour backbone. This version takes a lighter, weeknight-friendly detour — swapping in green pepper and cherry tomatoes for freshness, and letting the olives carry the brine.

Cook the aubergine. Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chopped aubergine and cook until soft, golden and tender on all sides. For a more traditional version, you can deep-fry the aubergine instead, though pan-frying is considerably lighter . Once cooked, remove from the pan and set aside.
Prepare the vegetable base. Add a little more olive oil to the same pan and sauté a diced onion until soft and translucent. Stir in green pepper, cherry tomatoes and olives, then season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover with a lid and cook until the tomatoes blister and release their natural juices.

Build the sauce. Stir through tomato paste, followed by a splash of red wine vinegar — this is what gives caponata its signature tang, so don’t skimp. If you don’t have red wine vinegar on hand, a splash of white wine vinegar works just as well, athough the flavour turns slightly milder and less rounded. Cook over a low heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring well until everything is beautifully combined.
Season with your soul. Add oregano, chilli flakes and all your favourite seasonings, adjusting s to taste. Return the cooked aubergine to the pan and gently fold through the fresh basil. Simmer for a further 2–3 minutes, allowing all the flavours to come together.

Serve. Serve your aubergine caponata warm or at room temperature with plenty of crusty bread, or allow the caponata to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. The flavours only get better with time — this is, unusually, a dish that improves on being forgotten about overnight…Then all that’s left to do is dive in.

Aubergine Caponata

A classic Sicilian antipasto (appetiser) starring tender aubergine simmered in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce with briny olives. Serve with plenty of crusty sourdough or focaccia to mop up every last saucy bit.

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Course Antipasti, Appetiser, Side Dish

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4

Ingredients

1½–2 aubergines, cut into large chunks
olive oil, as needed
½ onion, finely chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes
⅓–½ cup green olives, roughly chopped
1½ tbsp tomato paste
1½ tbsp red wine vinegar (alternatively, swap in white vinegar )
2–3 tsp dried oregano
2–3 tsp chilli flakes, (adjust to taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
½-1 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

Instructions

Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the aubergine until soft, golden and tender on all sides. Remove and set aside.
Add a little more olive oil to the pan and sauté the onion until soft and translucent. Add the green pepper, cherry tomatoes and olives. Season with salt and pepper, then cook until the tomatoes blister and soften.
Stir in the tomato paste followed by the red wine vinegar. Cook over a low heat for 2–3 minutes until well combined.
Add the oregano and chilli flakes, adjusting the seasonings to taste. Return the aubergine to the pan, fold through the fresh basil and simmer on low heat for another 2–3 minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature with crusty bread, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. The flavours deepen beautifully overnight. Then all that's left to do is DIVE IN!

Notes

For a more traditional version, the aubergine can be deep-fried instead of pan-fried. This caponata tastes even better the next day once the flavours have had time to develop.

Keyword easy vegetarian appetisers, Easy Vegetarian Recipes, high protein vegetarian meals, italian vegetarian recipes, vegetarian antipasti recipes

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