This Apulian caponata is a version of this one of Sicily’s essential dishes. It is a vegetarian eggplant stew–more like a relish, really–made of eggplant, onions, bell pepper, celery and tomatoes with briny olives and capers.

There are variations of this tasty eggplant dish. Most of caponatas are spiked with vinegar or raisins.

This version was given to me by a dear friend who lives in Prato, but she owns her Apulian origins a fantastic touch with veggies. This ratatouille is baked, and much lighter then the original version with fried veggies.

The addition of Juniper berries and bay leaves to caponata confers it a very unusual taste which, surprisingly enough (usually these herbs are used in game or meat cooking), melts perfectly with this tasty deli.

It is best the next day, so try to make it ahead and store it in the fridge in a tight-lid mason jar. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

 

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cooking Time: 60 mins | Total Time: 1 hour + 20 mins minutes | Yield: Makes 8 servings.

 

Ingredients 

• 4 medium yellow onions
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell peppers
• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 large eggplant
• 125 ml (½ cup) EVO oil
• 10 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon Juniper berries
• Sea salt

Instructions

 

Cut the eggplant in chunks, sprinkle with salt and let drain in a colander.

Halve and de–seed the peppers, then roughly cut into large chunks. Do the same with potatoes and zucchini.

Heat oven to 180C/170C (350 F) fan.

Cover two shallow roasting pans with parchment paper, pour in the vegetables except the eggplant, and season with salt.

With a clean tea towel, squeeze the eggplant chunks and add them to the other vegetables.

Spoon two-thirds juniper berries, peppercorns and olive oil and bay leaves (roughly broken into two halves) into the vegetable mixture, toss together, then roast for 40 minutes.

While vegetables are baking, cut the onions in two halves and then into strips.

Put them in a bowl, season with salt and the remaining herbs and olive oil.

After the vegetables have cooked for 40’, add the onion, mix and let it cook for 20’, or until all the vegetables are soft.

This simple dish demonstrates the deep interconnection of Italy with the Middle East and the Arab world. In all Italy, mainly along the coasts, we have the introduction of pine nuts and raisins in many dishes; see for example the Liguria cuisine, or Venice one, as a demonstration that along the century the contacts have been intense.

The case of Sicily is special since the Muslim Arab directly ruled it for centuries. This is not a history blog, so I need to summarize briefly a complicated but very interesting period.

Sicily, which was part of the Byzantine Empire, fell under Arab control first in the 7th century, in a short-lived conquest, that ended briefly. The systematic invasion of the island was concluded in 965 after a prolonged series of conflicts from 827 to 902.

The Muslim Arabs created a multi-ethnic society, where the previous Byzantine Sicilian inhabitants and a Jewish minority were “tolerated” and were able to flourish. In agriculture, the Arabs promoted a land reform, encouraging the growth of smallholdings and the subsequent increase in productivity. We also owe them the introduction of oranges, lemons, pistachio, almonds, and sugarcane to Sicily, as well as the improvement of the irrigation system thanks to the Qanats.

Due to intra-dynastic quarrels, which took place within the Muslim regime, the island fragmented into four areas. These internal divisions led to the progressive weakening of the Arab rule and the success of the plot of the princes from the inland, who enrolled Christian Norman mercenaries. The Emirate was conquered in 1071.

The Normans were great admirers of the Arab culture and under their rule, Sicily enjoyed a period of prosperity and the flourishing of Siculo-Norman architecture and art. 

This vocation towards multi-ethnicity perpetuates nowadays: the local dialects and cuisines in centuries have been embracing ingredients and other languages in its local culture, from France and Spain because of dominations, and the culture of the Mediterranean. Nowadays the cultural melting-pot has one of its most poignant symbol in the couscous festival, which is held every September in San Vito Lo Capo.