Caponata

Not to be confused with capponata.

Caponata (Sicilian: capunata) is a Sicilian dish consisting of chopped, fried eggplant and other vegetables, seasoned with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers, in an agrodolce (sweet and sour) sauce.^[1]

Caponata

Alternative names	Capunata
Type	Salad
Place of origin	Italy
Region or state	Sicily
Main ingredients	Eggplant
Ingredients generally used	Celery
Cookbook: Caponata   Media: Caponata

Variants add carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins.^[2] A Palermo version adds octopus, and an aristocratic recipe includes lobster and swordfish garnished with wild asparagus, grated dried tuna 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 as caponata alla giudia.^[5]

The etymology 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.^[6] The dishes described by Wright would suggest that in the past the Sicilian dish was similar to the Genoese capponata.

See also

• Italy portal
• Food portal

• List of Sicilian dishes
• List of stews
• List of eggplant dishes
  • Eggplant salads and appetizers