Preparation

To prepare the caponata, start by peeling the onion and finely slicing it. Next, peel the celery and cut it into rounds, then cut the green olives in half and remove the stone inside. After that, wash and dry the aubergines, trim them and cut them into pieces of about 2.5 cm. Do the same with the tomatoes. Heat a frying pan and toast the pine nuts for a few minutes until golden brown.

To fry the aubergines, place olive oil in a high-sided pan and heat it. Pour in a few aubergines at a time and fry them for a few minutes. Once they are golden brown, drain them with a slotted spoon and place them on a tray lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.

In a large saucepan, pour a generous splash of olive oil, heat it up and then pour in the onion. Sauté well until wilted, then add the celery; let it brown well and then add the capers, olives, toasted pine nuts and tomatoes. Fry for a few moments, then cover with a lid and cook over a gentle flame for 15-20 minutes. Prepare the sweet and sour sauce: pour the vinegar, tomato paste and sugar into a small pot.

Stir well with a teaspoon and, once the 15-20 minutes are up, add salt and pour the sauce into the pan. Stir, turn up the heat until the hint of vinegar has evaporated. Turn off the flame, add the fried aubergines and season with plenty of basil. Transfer the caponata into an oven dish and place in the fridge, as the special feature of caponata is that it should be served cold or at room temperature: it will taste even better the next day!