If you’re looking for a new salad recipe to add to your summer repertoire, Fabrizio Cali, chef-owner of Dolce Vita restaurant in Mesa, has offered us a recipe for Sicilian eggplant salad, also known as caponata. Cali, who was raised in Palermo, Sicily, likes this dish because it’s a staple in Sicilian culture. “Eggplants are the most used vegetable in Sicily and the dish has a strong Arabic influence (sweet and sour),” he says. “It’s full of flavor and always reminds me of home.”
Cali offers some helpful hints for making this recipe at home: If you want the eggplant to be less bitter, peel off the skin; Don’t add the vinegar if the mix is too hot. The alcohol will evaporate too soon and the caponata will be too sweet; and if you’d like to add protein to the caponata to make it a full meal, he recommends chicken.
Ingredients
4 ½ lbs. eggplant, diced
1 cup onions, chopped
2 cups celery, diced
½ cup capers
1 cup olives
1/3 cup sugar
Olive oil, salt and red wine vinegar to taste
Preparation
1. Clean the eggplant and dice. Put the diced eggplant under water and salt for at least two hours before frying. This gives the eggplant more flavor and tenderizes it. Drain and pat dry.
2. In a pan, fry all the eggplant and move to a strainer for one hour.
3. Add celery and onions to a pan and cook until brown. Then, add capers and olives and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
4. Move everything to one bowl and add the eggplant and salt to taste. Add the sugar, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Stir everything and refrigerate for one hour. Serve caponata by itself as an appetizer, on top of ciabatta or as a dip.
