Caponata Pasta
A Sicilian pasta dish featuring a sweet and sour vegetable stew with eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, olives, and raisins.
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant cut into 1-inch cubes
- Salt
- Olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 2 bell peppers red, yellow, or orange, chopped
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- ½ cup green olives pitted and halved
- ¼ cup raisins
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Optional: ¼ cup pine nuts
- 1 pound pasta
- Fresh basil leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Salt the eggplant and let it sit in a colander for 30 minutes.
- Sauté onion and celery in olive oil until softened. Add bell peppers and sauté briefly.
- Rinse and dry the eggplant. Fry or roast until golden brown.
- Add tomatoes, capers, olives, raisins, and pine nuts (if using) to the skillet. Stir in vinegar and sugar. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- Toss pasta with caponata, adding pasta water if needed.
- Garnish with fresh basil.