Sicilian-Style Aubergine Stew
Whenever I ask my friends what they’d like to eat, they look blankly at me as if to say, ‘We really don’t have a sodding clue.’ So I reel off a list of possible suggestions, which always includes a curry, a roast, a risotto, and the word ‘caponata’. Inevitably, they ask me, ‘What is this caponata you speak of, Freeborn?’, and I reply with, ‘It’s a sour Sicilian stew made with lots of olive oil, aubergines, tomatoes and capers, lifted by a heavy hit of red wine vinegar in the final moments of cooking. People usually add pine nuts, but look, I’m not made of money, so toasted chopped almonds will have to do if you want me to cook this for you.’ Then, their faces light up and they say, ‘We would very much like to eat that, please and thank you.’ This recipe is closely based on caponata but with more flexibility with the ingredients. It freezes well, so if cooking for fewer than four people, you can save portions for when you need a hit of hearty instant deliciousness.
Method
Based on 4 servings, adjust as needed.
Step 1
Pour your olive oil into a large, deep saucepan – it should definitely cover the bottom and come up the sides a little. Place over a medium heat. As it warms up, roughly chop your aubergines into oblongs of around 2–3cm. Add them to the pan, along with some salt, and fry them, stirring often, until the oil has soaked in and there’s a little bit of golden-brown colouring on the flesh – around 6–8 minutes. You may need to do this in batches to get some properly nice browning.
Step 2
Just as the aubergines are colouring, remove them from the pan and set aside in a bowl – you’ll want them again in just a minute. There should be a small amount of olive oil left in the pan. Finely chop and fry your onions with a pinch of salt in this oil, adding more if necessary. Cover until they’re translucent and cooked through, around 10 minutes. Add the garlic halfway if you’re using it. Then, return the aubergines to the pan and fry for a little longer. Next, add your tins of chopped tomatoes, breaking up any plum ones with a spoon as you go. Add a good pinch of salt now, and a grinding of black pepper, along with your raisins, if they’re going in. Squeeze in the tomato purée and add the red wine, then stir and simmer for around 45 minutes–1 hour with a lid on.
Step 3
Once that time is up, stretch and have a cup of tea, then take the chance to add the capers and olives, if using. Next, pour in your vinegar. It should smell really sour at this point, and have a good acidic top note when you taste it, but with a deep richness underneath from all that previous simmering.
Step 4
Adjust for seasoning (does it need more acidity? Or perhaps salt? Or maybe it’s too tangy for you and you need a splash of olive oil?). When you’re happy, let it simmer – uncovered – for around 10 minutes while you doom-scroll. You can serve it now, but it’s much better if you switch off the heat and leave it on the hob to meld for a few hours, reheating when you want to serve it.
Step 5
To serve, toast the almonds or pine nuts in a dry frying pan and scatter them over the pot, along with some torn fresh basil leaves. Caponata is usually served as a side, but we’ve taken to having this dish as part of an Italian-themed main, served with lots of focaccia, some antipasti, such as artichokes and salami, and a huge green salad, dressed with a little more red wine vinegar and olive oil.
- Ingredients
- Based on 4 servings
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1 tbsp Capers, drained 1x ASDA Capers 190g 190g
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2 tbsp Pitted Olives, green or black 1x ASDA Pitted Black Olives 310g 310g
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4 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar, balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar or malt vinegar 1x ASDA Red Wine Vinegar 350ml
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150ml Red Wine, approx 1x Hardys Stamp Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon Miniature 18.7cl
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2 tbsp Pine Nuts, or toasted, chopped almonds 1x ASDA Pine Nuts 100g 100g
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1 loaf Rosemary and Seasalt Focaccia 1x Deli Kitchen Sliced Focaccia 4pk
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60ml Olive Oil 1x ASDA Olive Oil 500ml 500ml
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15g Basil, picked 1x ASDA Wonderfully Aromatic Basil 30g
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2 Onions, finely chopped or double the amount of shallots 2x ASDA 3 Crunchy & Fragrant Brown Onions 3pk
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2 Garlic Cloves, peeled and chopped 1x ASDA Fragrant & Bold Garlic 45mm+ 3pk
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2 Tins Chopped Tomatoes, or peeled plum tomatoes 2x ASDA Chopped Tomatoes 400g 400g
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2 Aubergines, cut into 2-3 cm oblongs 2x ASDA Aubergine each
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1 tbsp Raisins, exceedingly optional, but very authentic 1x ASDA Seedless Raisins 500g 500g
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2 tbsp Double Concentrated Tomato Purée 1x ASDA Tomato Purée Double Concentrate 200g 200g
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1 Lettuce, washed 1x JUST ESSENTIALS by ASDA Round Lettuce each
