Caponata. By Katie Caldesi.

Ingredients
1 large aubergines, chopped (2 medium)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling (150ml)
6 celery sticks, chopped (or 2)
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g chopped tomatoes (1 Italian tinned plum tomatoes)
3 tbsp caster sugar, or to taste
3 tbsp or 30ml red wine vinegar
1 tbsp capers, drained and chopped
100g (12) green olives in brine, pitted and sliced
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Method


Another way to cook aubergine dice:
Spread out the aubergine dice in a colander and sprinkle with salt, tossing to make sure all the pieces are evenly coated.
Press gently.
Allow the aubergine dice to stand at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
Rinse the aubergine under water to remove the salt and thoroughly dry it.
This salting process helps to remove any bitterness from the aubergine.
Using younger, smaller aubergine it's pretty rare to get a bitter one, so you can skip the salting to save on time!
Roast aubergine dice:
Drizzle aubergine dice evenly with olive oil.
This action keeps the aubergine from absorbing too much oil when cooking, keeping the aubergine's crunch.
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
You’ll also need to line a baking pan with foil or lightly grease it.
Spread out the aubergine dice on a baking sheet.
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven.
Let the aubergine dice roast for 10-15 minutes.
You want each piece to have that hint of crunch while still being tender.

OR fry aubergine dice:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
Olive oil substitute: avocado oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or palm oil – and it'll still be healthy.
Add the aubergine dice to the hot oil, cook for about 15 minutes until tender.




From:

This aubergine caponata is perfect over pasta.

Caponata by Nigel Slater.

Sweet and sour dishes hold great pleasure for me, and none more so than this extraordinary salad of aubergine and tomato.
I put peppers in mine - some people do, some don't - and this is one of the very few times I ever peel an aubergine.
I can eat this Sicilian dish at any time of year, but especially now, when the sun is shining.
If you make it the day before, the flavours - salty, sweet and sour - will have time to marry in the fridge.

Serves 4
aubergines - 2, very large
olive oil
a large onion
garlic - 2 cloves, finely chopped
celery - 2 large sticks
a large red pepper
tomato purée - a scant tbs
tomato passata - 200ml
golden sultanas or raisins - 2 tbs
red wine vinegar - 4 tbs
sugar - 1 tbs
capers - 1 tbs
green olives - a handful

Peel the aubergines and remove their stalks.
Cut them into large chunks and place in a colander.
Sprinkle them with salt then set aside for an hour.

Peel the onion and slice it thinly then let it soften - but not colour - in a shallow layer of oil.
Add the garlic towards the end of cooking.
Remove the onion and garlic, then fry the celery, thinly sliced and pepper, cored and sliced, till soft.
Remove and add to the onion.

Rinse the salt from the aubergines, pat them dry with kitchen paper then soften in the same pan.
As it approaches tenderness, return the onion and garlic, celery and pepper to the pan, stir and continue cooking over a gentle heat.
Stir in the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, raisins, red wine vinegar, sugar, capers, olives and 150ml water.
Season.

Leave to simmer, gently, for about 25 minutes, keeping a careful eye to ensure you end up with a soft tangle of sweet-sour vegetables.
Chill overnight.
Serve with crusty bread.

Various options for Caponata.

- Caponata alla siciliana | Memorie di Angelina

- Caponata by Antonio Carluccio:
Start by soaking the aubergine cubes in water to make them less oil-absorbent, for up to 10 minutes.
- Capelli con Caponata - Antonio Carluccio:
Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water for 12- 14 minutes or until al dente. Drain and mix with the caponata.

- Roasted Eggplant Caponata Recipe : Ina Garten : Food Network:
jarred roasted red peppers
garlic
pine nuts

- Caponata | Farm Bell Recipes Bake in a 350 degree F (18OC) oven for about 1 1/2 hours - Preserving!

- How to Roast Eggplant Cubes - Easy Healthy Tutorial:
Place the eggplant pieces in a colander and sprinkle with salt, tossing the pieces with your hands as you sprinkle to make sure all the pieces are evenly coated.
Allow the eggplant to stand at room temperature for 30-45 minutes till beads of liquid form on the surface.
Rinse the eggplant thoroughly and pat dry.
This salting process helps to remove any bitterness from the eggplant.
Spread out the eggplant cubes on a baking sheet.
Drizzle evenly with olive oil.
Let the eggplant roast for 10 minutes - 220C.
Take the eggplant out and stir it with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Return it to the oven till the eggplant is tender and some of the pieces are caramelized.

- The eggplant caponata | SICILIAN CREATIVE IN THE KITCHEN | Ada Parisi Video!

- How to cook the perfect caponata | Life and style | The Guardian:
courgette
red onion
sultanas or raisins
passata
chocolate

- Caponata San Bernardo: combines eggplant with a sauce of dark chocolate, toasted breadcrumbs, almonds, sugar, vinegar, and sometimes even anchovies!

- Did You Know: Food History - A History of the Sicilian Caponata:

Caponata. By Giorgio Locatelli.

- Caponata d’estate recipe - Telegraph By Giorgio Locatelli!
Serves 4
Summer caponata, made with aubergines, courgettes, celery, fennel, tomatoes, olives, sultanas and pine nuts, when all the vegetables are at their best, is the most famous, outside Sicily.
Often, some chunks of good bread are added, and then the dish is called 'pane a caponata’.
Ingredients
1 large aubergine
100g whole black olives in brine
50g pine nuts
400g country bread, cut into cubes of about 2cm (optional)
olive oil for frying
1 onion, cut into 2cm dice
2 celery stalks, cut into 2cm dice
1 tbsp tomato passata
1 tbsp caster sugar
5 tbsp good-quality red wine vinegar
vegetable oil for deep-frying
half fennel bulb, cut into 2cm dice
1 courgette, cut into 2cm dice
3 fresh plum tomatoes, cut into 2cm dice
a bunch of fresh basil
50g sultanas
about 100ml extra-virgin olive oil

Cut the aubergine into 2cm dice, sprinkle with salt and leave to drain in a colander for at least two hours.
Squeeze lightly to remove excess liquid.

Drain the olives and pat dry.
Then crush them lightly and take out the stones.

Heat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4.
Lay the pine nuts in a single layer on a baking tray and put into the oven for around eight minutes.
As long as they are in a single layer you don’t need to turn them.
Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn, and when they are golden, take them out and chop them.
Spread the cubes of bread (if using) on a separate baking tray and toast for five to 10 minutes, until golden.
Set the pine nuts and bread aside.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan.
Add the onion, celery and olives and cook until soft but not coloured, then add the tomato passata.
Mix the sugar and vinegar together in a cup and add to the pan.
Bring to the boil, then take off the heat and transfer the contents of the pan to a big bowl.
Heat about 4cm of vegetable oil in a deep pan, making sure it comes no higher than a third of the way up the pan. (If you have a thermometer, the temperature should be 180C, otherwise, to test if it is hot enough, sprinkle in a little flour or breadcrumbs; if the oil is ready, the flour will fry.)
Add the fennel and deep-fry for one to two minutes, until tender and golden.
Lift out and drain on kitchen paper.
Wait until the oil comes up to the right temperature again, then repeat with the aubergine, followed by the courgette.

Add all the deep-fried vegetables to the bowl containing the onion, celery and olives, together with the diced tomatoes.
Tear the basil leaves and add them to the bowl, along with the sultanas, pine nuts and the extra-virgin olive oil.
Season well, and mix together gently.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm while the vegetables are still warm and leave to infuse for at least two hours at room temperature.

Mix in the toasted bread, if using, and leave to infuse for another 20 minutes before serving.
Don’t put the bowl in the fridge, because it is during the process in which the vegetables steam a little under the clingfilm and then come down in temperature very slowly that 'the savoury merges into the sweet and the sweet into the savoury’.

Note:
In every house and in every restaurant you will find a different version and an opinion.
The truth is, it is made with whatever vegetables the people have, depending on the season, but the principle is always the same: the vegetables are fried, each one separately, to retain the integrity of each flavour, then combined in a sweet and sour sauce.

Caponata from 'River Cottage Veg' .

Caponata from 'River Cottage Veg' | Serious Eats
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's version in River Cottage Veg calls for an ingredient I had never thought to include in my caponatas: chocolate.
Why I picked this recipe: Had to try this chocolate-laced version of my favorite summer spread.
What worked: The ingredient list may be long, but the balance of this caponata is on point.
What didn't: I thought the eggplant could have used a little more time frying.
I ended up needing to add a bit of water to the final simmering stew in order to give it more time on the stovetop.
Suggested tweaks: You could play with the ingredients here if you'd like, but keep in mind that the final dish is supposed to have a bright sweet-and-sour flavor.

Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants (about 
1 pound/500g), cut into 
1/2-inch (1-cm) cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 inner celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, chopped
6 large plum or other ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped or a 14-ounce (400g) can plum tomatoes, chopped, any stalky ends and skin removed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated dark chocolate (optional)
1/3 cup (50g) golden raisins
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
2 ounces (60g) pitted green olives, sliced
A good handful of flat-leaf parsley or mint, chopped, 
to finish

Directions:
1. Put the eggplant cubes into a large colander and sprinkle with 
2 teaspoons of salt.
Toss together and then leave to draw out the juices for about half an hour...let stand at least 2 hours.
Rinse the eggplant and pat/squeeze dry with a kitchen towel.

2. While the eggplant is salting, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan over fairly low heat.
Add the onion, celery, and garlic and fry for about 10 minutes until tender and golden.
Add the tomatoes with their juice and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce a little.

3. Now add the balsamic vinegar; sugar; chocolate, if using; golden raisins; capers; and olives to the pan.
Simmer for another 5 to 
10 minutes, stirring often, then turn off the heat.

4. In a large frying pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat.
OR: olive oil—about 1 cm deep—in a large pot until it reaches 190C, or a breadcrumb dropped in browns immediately.
Work in batches to avoid crowding the eggplant!
When hot, fry the eggplant cubes for about 
5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender.
Drain on kitchen paper.
Tip them into the tomato mixture.

5. Return to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and leave until completely cooled.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.

6. You can serve the caponata right away or leave it in the fridge or 
a very cool place for a day or two to allow the flavors to deepen even further; bring it to room temperature before serving.
Sprinkle with plenty of chopped parsley or mint just before serving.

Caponata. By Anna del Conte.

Eggplants in a Sweet-and-Sour Sauce.
Caponata, a Sicilian creation, appears in many different versions throughout the island.
The dish can be garnished with tiny boiled octopus, with a small lobster, with shrimp, or with bottarga (the dried roe of the mullet or tuna fish), a speciality of Sicily and Sardinia

Ingredients
Serves 4
700 gr eggplants
vegetable oil for frying
salt
the inner sticks of 1 celery head, coarse strings removed
7 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, very finely sliced
225 gr canned plum tomatoes, drained and chopped
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 tbsp grated bittersweet chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
4 tbsp capers, preferably in salt, rinsed
One third cup large green olives, pitted and quartered
2 hard-boiled, free-range eggs

Method
Cut the eggplants into 1-2 cm cubes.
Heat 2-3 cm vegetable oil in a skillet.
When the oil is hot, add a layer of eggplants and fry until golden brown on all sides.
Drain on paper towels, sprinkling each batch lightly with salt; repeat until all the eggplants are cooked.

Wash and dry the celery and cut into pieces the same size as the eggplants.
Fry in the oil in which the eggplants were cooked until golden and crisp; drain on paper towels.

Pour the olive oil into a clean skillet and add the onion.
Saute gently for about 10 minutes until soft.
Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat for about 15 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.

While the sauce is cooking, heat the sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan.
Add the chocolate, capers, and olives and simmer the mixture until the chocolate melts.
Add to the tomato sauce and cook for 5 minutes longer.

Mix the eggplants and celery into the tomato sauce.
Stir and cook for 20 minutes so the flavours of the ingredients blend together.
Pour the caponata into a serving dish and leave to cool.

Before serving, cover the caponata with the hard-boiled eggs which have been passed through the smallest holes of a food mill, or pushed through a metal strainer.

Caponata is one of the recipes in Anna del Conte's Gastronomy of Italy (Pavilion Books, ISBN: 1862051666, 29.95).

Caponata by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Caponata recipe | Yotam Ottolenghi | Life and style | The Guardian:
80ml olive oil
80ml sunflower oil
1 large aubergine (350g), cut into 2.5cm dice
120g celery, tender part only, cut on an angle into 2cm-wide slices
1 red pepper, cut into 1.5cm dice
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp harissa paste
150g tinned tomatoes
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
20g capers
30g green olives, pitted and halved
1½ tsp caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
30g raisins (optional)
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp chopped parsley