Eggplant Caponata and Sicilian Market Etiquette

 

 

Lines don't really exist in Italy. There might seem to be a line, but Italians know all those fools are foreigners. They will walk right by through you and up to the cashier, as if you were invisible. Once during a break from Italian class, we students were in line to pay for our coffee, snacks, etc. Noticing this strange phenomena, the cashier yelled to his colleagues that it was obvious we were stranieri (foreigners) because of the perfect line we had formed.

 

 

 

Street markets are even more chaotic and it's every man, woman, and child for him/herself. If it's crowded and you are timid or polite, forget about ever getting service. I went with my cousin Mariella to the mercatino (little street market) in Palermo. Mariella, barely five feet two, wedged her way through the crowd with her rolling shopping bag behind her. She pushed her way up to the counter and asked, "Chi e l'ultima?" (Who is last?) They politely told her and then each person waited their turn. This happened at each vendor's counter during the day. Imagine my surprise! At one point Mariella asked me why my mouth was agape. There is actually some logic to the chaos of the street market. Who knew?

 

 

 

We shopped for ingredients to make caponata. Caponata is a vegetable dish, mainly eggplant, in an agrodolce sauce. Agrodolce, a sour and sweet sauce, is YUM, YUM YUM!! It's also used with fish, winter squash, and with seafood salads. Here's the thing; it's also easy to make, just 1 part sugar to 2 parts vinegar. (The term agrodolce also describes things that are both sweet and sour at the same time, a movie, a breakup, a graduation or other ending that leads to a beginning. ) The theory with agrodolce is that you need both the sweet and the sour together, each contrasting and accentuating the other, but as a whole the flavor is balanced and harmonious.

Below is Mariella's recipe, with one little additon. I've added some sultanas (golden raisins) to the recipe because I think the sultanas hold the agrodolce sauce and balance the tartness of the capers. Caponata should be served at room temperature---never warm. It's best if served the day after you make it.

 

 

 

 

Mariella's Eggplant Caponata

Makes 8 cups

 

2 pounds of eggplant (about 4)

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 stalks celery, diced

2 cups olive oil

1 onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (15 ounce) can peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped

5 ounces pitted green olives, quartered

4 ounces capers, rinsed

1/4 cup sultanas (golden raisins)

2 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

2 pinches of pepper, plus more to taste

Cut the eggplant into one-inch cubes, leaving the skin on. Place in a colander, sprinkling each layer with salt. Cover with a paper towel and weigh down with plates. Leave for one hour, allowing the excess water to drain.

Sweeten the vinegar by adding the sugar and set aside. Blanch the celery in boiling salted water for 2 minutes.

Rinse the eggplant and pat completely dry. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large sauté pan, and cook one-fourth of the eggplant cubes over high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Place the cooked eggplant on paper to drain. Continue cooking the eggplant in this way in 3 more stages.

Drain the excess olive oil from the sauté pan used for cooking the eggplant, leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan. On high heat, sweat the onion and a pinch of salt for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the celery and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with the juices, the olives, capers, sultanas, salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the eggplant and the sweetened vinegar and cook about 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Cool and refrigerate overnight. You can serve it as an appetizer on toasted bread or as a side vegetable. Buon Appetito!

 

 

Related Posts:

Involtini di Melanzane -Stuffed Eggplant Rolls

Foods Not to Miss in Italy

Torta Setteveli - Seven Veils Cake from Palermo

Cassatelle alla Siciliana (Sweet Ricotta Cream Fried Ravioli)

When Life Gives You Lemons - Make Lemon Granita

Pasta con le Sarde and Cooking in Palermo

A Taste of the Sea and Spaghetti Siracusana

Cannoli alla Siciliana

Braciola di Maiale - Braised Pork Roll for a Sicilian Holiday Dinner

Good Views and Good Eats in Taormina

A Weekend in the Aeolian Islands

The Dish from Sicily: Arancino

The Dish from Sicily: Granita

Tiramisu Recipe - And How to Almost Get Thrown Out of the House in Sicily

Comments

[Paula Aiello]

First, about the waiting in line stuff ... Being an extreme extrovert and having very little patience for lines, I fit perfectly in this cultural meme. Even here in the states, I seldom just "wait" - I always speak up and ask what the deal is (i.e., "Chi e l'ultima?"). If no one answers, I just push up to the front. (Reminds me of the French kids you described a long time ago). There is absolutely NO DOUBT I am Sicilian.
As for the caponata, I adore anything that contains melanzane, so of course I like caponata, but my fave is plain ol' parmesana. I have to laugh, though, that one has to expressly SAY "leave the skin on." I confess that when I was VERY small, I used to pick it off as I ate, but that didn't last long. Without skin, melanzane is just mush.
Ciao! Thanks for keeping this up even though you are "home" now. Love, Paula

[Jill Silverman Hough]

I have a recipe for caponata in my upcoming book (shameless plug: "100 Perfect Pairings," to be released in April) - to pair with Zinfandel. But since you're in Italy, I guess Primitivo will do!

Are they still harvesting eggplant in Sicily in October???
XOXOX

[foodloverkathy]

Jill and Paula---Thanks for reading, and for bringing up the subject of exactly where I am now. Yes, I have returned to the US (California), but have so much more Italian food to share and stories to tell. I hope all of you will stay tuned. As of late September, eggplants were still at the street markets in Sicily. Sicily is very far south, so their season is a little different than in CA. I pondered sharing the recipe now because eggplant is out of season in most of the US, but didn't want to wait. I've checked my list of upcoming blog posts and all future Italy ones are fall dishes....with a few holiday ones (did someone ask for cuccidati?)!
Jill thanks for the advice on wine. I will defer to your excellent pairing knowledge, and look for some primitivo to pair with the caponata I just made.

[My Carolina Kitchen]

What an absolutely gorgeous assortment of olives. Your caponata looks delicious. I had no idea the natives would walk past foreigners in line in Europe. Some of the illegal residents (not Americans) do it in the Bahamas, but I've never seen it the other way around. No matter, I would still love to be in line at that lovely market.
Sam