Sicilian aubergine stew (Caponata)

Aubergine caponata is a traditional dish from the beautiful island of Sicily. Aubergine is the star of this classic sweet-and-sour dish.

Ingredients

2 large aubergines
1 small red onion
2 cloves of garlic
½ a bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley (15g)
2 tablespoons salted capers
1 handful of green olives
5 large ripe tomatoes
olive oil
1 heaped teaspoon dried oregano
2-3 tablespoons best-quality herb vinegar

OPTIONAL
2 tablespoons slivered almonds

Method

Cut the aubergine into large chunks. Peel and finely chop the onion, then peel and finely slice the garlic. Pick and chop the parsley leaves and finely chop the stalks.

Rinse, soak and drain the capers and remove the olive stones. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Toast the almonds, if using, under a hot grill or in an oven until light brown.

Get yourself a large pan, pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil, and place on the heat. Add your aubergine chunks and oregano, season with a little sea salt and toss around so the aubergine is evenly coated by the oil. Cook on a high heat for around 4 or 5 minutes, giving the pan a shake every now and then. (Depending on the size of your pan you may need to cook the aubergine in batches.)

When the aubergines are nice and golden on each side, add the onion, garlic and parsley stalks, and continue cooking for another couple of minutes. Feel free to add a little more oil to the pan if you feel it’s getting too dry.

Throw in the drained capers and the olives, and drizzle over the herb vinegar. When all the vinegar has evaporated, add the tomatoes and simmer for around 15 minutes or until tender.

Taste before serving and season if you need to with salt, black pepper and a little more vinegar. Drizzle with some good olive oil and serve sprinkled with the chopped parsley leaves and the almonds if you like.