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| Alternative names | Capunata |
|---|---|
| Type | Salad |
| Place of origin | Italy |
| Region or state | Sicily |
| Main ingredients | Eggplant |
| Ingredients generally used | Celery |
Caponata (Sicilian:capunata) is aSicilian dish consisting of chopped, friedeggplant and other vegetables, seasoned with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers, in anagrodolce (sweet and sour) sauce.[1]
Variants add carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins.[2] APalermo version addsoctopus, and an aristocratic recipe includes lobster andswordfish garnished with wild asparagus, grated driedtuna roe and shrimp.[3] These are exceptions to the general rule of a sweet and sour cooked vegetable stew or salad. In Naples, similar dishes include sweet and sour eggplant.[4]
Caponata is historically associated with Sicily's Jewish community, and is sometimes still referred to ascaponata alla giudia.[5]
The etymology of the name is not reliably known. Some suggest it derives from theCatalan language, others that it comes from thecaupone, the sailors' taverns.[6] The dishes described by Wright would suggest that in the past the Sicilian dish was similar to theGenoesecapponata.
