foodbriefs
1:01in productionCh. 1 · What the dish is and where it came from/ 1:01 · ceiling 15 min
Dishes

Caponata

A Sicilian vegetable dish of fried eggplant and other vegetables in sweet-and-sour agrodolce sauce.

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

Chapters & takeaways7
  1. 0:00
    What the dish is and where it came from

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

  2. 0:12
    How it works, in terms someone would actually use

    It is made by chopping and frying eggplant and other vegetables, then seasoning them with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers in an agrodolce sauce.

  3. 0:23
    What it gets right

    It gets right a balance of savory, briny, and sweet-sour flavors through olives, capers, and agrodolce.

  4. 0:34
    What it does not

    It does not always fit a strict vegetable-stew definition: some versions include octopus, lobster, swordfish, or dried tuna roe.

  5. 0:42
    What it changed

    Variants add carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins.

  6. 0:46
    Who it is for, and who it is not

    It is for people who enjoy cooked vegetable dishes with bold, contrasting flavors.

  7. 0:55
    Is it worth your time

    It is worth your time if you like agrodolce-seasoned vegetable dishes with Mediterranean ingredients.

Worth your time?

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What works
  • It gets right a balance of savory, briny, and sweet-sour flavors through olives, capers, and agrodolce. Its base of fried eggplant and vegetables makes it substantial yet vegetable-forward.
What does not
  • It does not always fit a strict vegetable-stew definition: some versions include octopus, lobster, swordfish, or dried tuna roe.
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      The written brief1 min read

      What the dish is and where it came from

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

      How it works, in terms someone would actually use

      It is made by chopping and frying eggplant and other vegetables, then seasoning them with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers in an agrodolce sauce.

      What it gets right

      It gets right a balance of savory, briny, and sweet-sour flavors through olives, capers, and agrodolce. Its base of fried eggplant and vegetables makes it substantial yet vegetable-forward.

      What it does not

      It does not always fit a strict vegetable-stew definition: some versions include octopus, lobster, swordfish, or dried tuna roe.

      What it changed

      Variants add carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins.

      Who it is for, and who it is not

      It is for people who enjoy cooked vegetable dishes with bold, contrasting flavors. It is not exclusively for vegetarians due to seafood variants.

      Is it worth your time

      It is worth your time if you like agrodolce-seasoned vegetable dishes with Mediterranean ingredients.

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