Marsala Memories: Sicilian Caponata

We got to spend some time in Marsala and for lunch one day popped into a little spot called La Vecchia Salumeria. We loved our lunch there! They brought us a selection of their meats and cheeses and the special sandwich (without anchovies for me, thank you!).

One of the highlights was the Sicilian Caponata. It was fabulous! At the end of the meal, I asked if I could have the recipe. Angela was kind enough not only to write it down for me, but to come out and answer questions to ensure that her instructions were understood. The super-interesting thing about this Sicilian Caponata was the lack of olives, garlic and peppers – items normally found in caponata recipes.

Fast forward back to Toronto and I am lucky enough to get to spend an evening with my friend and TravelFoodCool reader (thank you!), Kathryn. I had mentioned to her that I wanted to make this Sicilian caponata and she volunteered her home and the help of her husband (who is a noted chef in Toronto). Big shout out to Mosto Foods for the cooking help.

This Sicilian Caponata is a fabulous antipasto, whether eaten on its own, served simply on bread as a bruschetta or used as a condiment for meat. Leftovers can be tossed into pasta to make a vegetarian and gluten-free sauce (using gluten-free pasta or spiralized veggie noodles) – hello Meatless Monday!

If you get the chance to visit Marsala, stop into La Vecchia Salumeria, try the Caponata and say hello to Angela!

Prep time: 20 minutes; Cook time: 40 minutes – 1 hour; Makes: approximately 1 L (4 cups)

What you need:

• 1 medium eggplant, diced (or 2 Turkish eggplants) – if you like more eggplant, double the quantity – I will the next time I make this
• 1 stalk celery, diced (note, I sliced it first and then changed my mind and diced it)
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 700 ml jar tomato passata (you can find passata at all grocery stores)
• 1/4 cup capers
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup+ olive oil (for frying)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp sugar
• olive oil (optional) to finish

What you do:

• Dice and cube eggplant, sprinkle with salt, let sit 10 minutes

• Boil the sliced celery, approximately 2 minutes, drain

• Blot eggplant with a paper towel to remove some of the water
• Fry the eggplant in olive oil over medium high heat, in batches. Don’t crowd the eggplant (cook roughly 1/2 cup at a time) (you may have to add more oil as you cook as the eggplant soaks up the olive oil). Cook approximately 10 minutes a batch

• While the eggplant was frying, I decided to cut the celery into smaller pieces

• Remove eggplant from pan
• Fry onions separately, in the same oil

• Add eggplant, celery, onions and capers to a large deep frypan (or pot), add salt, pepper, sugar and white wine vinegar

• Add the tomatoes

• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low
• Cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour – depending on how thick you like it – although it should be fairly thick

• Let cool to room temperature (or ideally overnight)

• Finish with a splash of olive oil (optional)

• Serve

• Serve on its own

• Serve with slices of crusty bread

• Serve as a condiment for meat

• Leftovers can be tossed into pasta
• Enjoy!!!

Where: La Vecchia Salumeria, Via Abele Damiani 30, 91025, Marsala, Sicily, Italy