Name: Eggplant Caponata
Yield: Serves 8–10
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 4–5 cloves garlic, chopped; 1–2 yellow onions, finely diced; ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil; Generous drizzle of runny honey; 1–2 pinches of dried oregano and dried thyme; 1–2 fresh chiles, chopped, or 2 pinches of red chile flakes; ½ cup red wine vinegar; 2 summer squash; 1 heaping cup pitted green olives, such as Castelvetrano or Spanish; 2–4 medium-size eggplants; ¼ cup capers; ¼ cup raisins; 3–4 celery ribs; 2 sweet peppers, seeded and chopped; Grated zest and juice of 2 lemons; ½ cup pine nuts; Kosher salt; ¼ cup or so tomato paste; ½ cup or so tomato purée

Preparation info

Serves
8–10

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Flavors from the Farm

By Emma Hearst

Published 2024

About

Similar to ratatouille, this Sicilian eggplant dish is both sweet and sour and is a great way to utilize much of summer’s bounty. Our version is loaded with produce that is prime on the farm when eggplant is ready for picking, such as summer squash and peppers. If you don’t have the full gamut of produce listed here, feel free to omit a vegetable or two—but definitely not the eggplant!

We love taking a pint of this caponata along on picnics to accompany a spread of cheeses and charc