Caponata ( Sicilian: ''capunata'') is a Sicilian dish consisting of chopped fried

aubergine Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mos ...

(U.S. eggplant) and other vegetables, seasoned with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers, in an agrodolce sauce. Numerous local variants exist concerning the ingredients, by adding carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins. There is a

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

version that adds

octopus An octopus ( : octopuses or octopodes, see below for variants) is a soft-bodied, eight- limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (, ). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttle ...

, and an aristocratic Sicilian recipe includes lobster and

swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...

garnished with wild asparagus, grated dried tuna roe and shrimp. However, these last examples 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. A similar Neapolitan dish is called '' cianfotta''. The dish is also popular in

Tunisian cuisine Tunisian cuisine, the cuisine of Tunisia, consists of the cooking traditions, ingredients, recipes and techniques developed in Tunisia since antiquity. It is mainly a blend of Mediterranean and native Punics-Berber cuisine. Historically, Tuni ...

Etymology

The

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

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. The dishes described by Wright would suggest that in the past the Sicilian dish was similar to the Genoese ''capponata''.

References

External links

The traditional Sicilian eggplant caponata recipe
{{eggplant dishes Palermitan cuisine Cuisine of Sicily Tunisian cuisine Eggplant dishes Olive dishes

Etymology

See also

References

External links