Sicilian Caponata
with Pine Nuts and Garlic Ciabatta
Sicily, ‘The Old Country’, the birthplace of Vito Corleone and home to one of our favourite Italian dishes: Caponata. Patrick learned how to make this dish whilst filming in the beautiful coastal town of Catania and (in a fairly risky move), he has decided to recreate it with a few of his own flavours. Italians are fiercely protective of their recipes so, for his sake, let’s keep this one under our hats. Buon Appetito!
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
2
Aubergine
(May contain Celery)
25
Pine Nuts
2
Garlic Clove
1
Red Pepper
30
Black Olives
1
Red Onion
1
Tomato Passata
1
Ciabatta
(Contains Cereals containing gluten May contain Cereals containing gluten)
40
Mature Cheddar Cheese
(Contains Milk)
1
Dried Oregano
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees. Slice the aubergine in half lengthways and then slice each half into five strips. Chop your aubergine into 2cm cubes and place on a baking tray.
Use your hands to coat your aubergine in a splash of olive oil and roast on the top shelf of your oven for 15 mins, or until a little crispy around the edges.
In a large dry frying pan, toast the pine nuts for 2 mins until nicely golden – keep an eye on them as they will burn quickly! Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl, keep to one side.
To make the caponata, peel and slice the red onion as thinly as you can. Heat a splash of olive oil in the same pan used for your pine nuts. Once hot, add your red onion and cook on medium heat. Next, peel and chop half the garlic. Remove the core from the red pepper and chop into 2cm chunks. Add your chopped garlic and pepper to your onion with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until everything has softened – if you have a lid, cover the pan to speed this up! While your veggies cook, chop the olives and keep to the side. When your veggies are soft, add your olives and dried oregano.
Tip the passata into the pan and add a splash of water. Add a pinch of sugar (if you have some) and leave to simmer and thicken for 10-15 mins – add a bit more water if it starts to look too dry!
Once your aubergine has roasted, remove it from your oven, add to the pan and stir. Turn your grill to high
Cut the ciabatta in half and toast on each side under your grill. Meanwhile, grate the cheese. Once your ciabatta is toasted, peel and chop your remaining garlic in half. Rub your garlic across the top of your ciabatta and top each half with some cheese. Put back under your grill for 2 mins until golden and bubbly.
Once your caponata has thickened, serve with your pine nuts sprinkled over the top. It can be eaten with cutlery or by using your ciabatta as a small edible shovel!
