After years and years of loving plain old caponata, I realized it was my turn to EXERCISE FREE WILL and turn caponata into what I think it has always wanted to be – a chilled, filling, vibrant pasta salad that uses all the best of summer produce in a punchy, salty-sweet kind of way. Caponata is already one of the most satisfying side dishes, but now I want to welcome it into the “full meal” category.
Table of contents
First, a bit about caponata
Caponata is a traditional Italian side dish, and wow is it delicious. It’s a Sicilian dish, and at first it might seem a bit off-your-radar. It uses olives and raisins? Sugar and capers? It sounds like it won’t work. But believe me, it works so well.
The base is nearly always chopped and fried eggplant (god bless the Italians for giving us that), then tomatoes, sometimes peppers, olives and capers and a sweet and tangy agrodolce sauce, which here is just a combination of honey and vinegar.
Typically caponata is a side dish, but it has also been stretched into a main course. Here, with adding the cooled pasta and protein sources, we’re doing a bit of stretching, and it’s so worth it.
What type of eggplant works best for a caponata?
The beautiful thing about eggplant is that there are SO many varieties. Just this year in my garden I learned how to plant and grow ghost eggplant! I had no idea white eggplant like that existed.
The most common eggplant varieties you probably see are Italian, Graffiti, or Chinese. Of these varieties, any will work, but I will say Graffiti or Italian are my favorite. They tend to have a meatier flesh that collapses easier, where Chinese eggplant can be a bit firmer and have more skin for you to work through.
The key things to do to take this from caponata, to caponata pasta salad
Caponata on its own eats as a pretty vegetable-forward side dish. You get all the texture from the cooked vegetables, because there is nothing to really “stew” them together or make them meld.
I personally, like my caponata to almost glaze the outside of my pasta like a dressing. I want it to have an element of stewy, saucy flavor so that this pasta salad feels like it has an intense dressing, even without having any olive oil or vinegar drizzled on top.
To do this, I take my pretty traditional caponata recipe, but at the end I add a cup of water and let that reduce so the ingredients can get all saucy and collapsed together.
Ingredient swaps and suggestions
I know, I know, not everyone likes every thing – and caponata has a lot of things! Here are some substitution ideas for the ingredients:
- PASTA – if you are gluten free, use Arborio rice for a delicious risotto-style take on this recipe.
- EGGPLANT – swap this for zucchini or sweet peppers! Either will be a delicious trade.
- CELERY – exchange this for fennel, green pepper, or skip it all together!
- ONION – this can be easily swapped for red onions or shallots
- TOMATOES – if you skip these, add 1 more tablespoon of tomato paste. You can also swap them out for more roasted red peppers.
- ROASTED RED PEPPERS – You can either sub this with more tomatoes, fresh red bell peppers, or 1/4 cup jarred tomatoes.
- OLIVES – If you don’t love olives, try a few flat-packed anchovies in their place. It’s a little wild, but chopped pickles or pickled vegetables also work in their place. If you don’t love that either, trade the olives for 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
- CAPERS – Same as the olives, you’re just going for a briny tang here! You can swap in chopped preserved lemon for capers, if that’s more your thing.
- PINE NUTS – swap these for any toasted nut or seed you love!
- RAISINS – you can leave these out, swap them for dried apricot (chopped) or dried cranberries, or even chopped dates!
- DRIED OREGANO – swap this for dried parsley, thyme, or rosemary.
- HONEY – swap this for maple syrup, agave nectar, or granulated sugar.
- PARSLEY – any tender herb like cilantro, mint, chives, etc. is a great swap!
- BASIL – swap this for more parsley, or another tender her like the ones listed above.
What is the best way to store this pasta salad?
This pasta salad lasts forever, and arguably tastes better the next day. Store this in serving-sizes in air-tight containers. They will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days, and last in the freezer for up to 6 months.
And that’s it for this Caponata Pasta Salad!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.
Equipment
- 1 colander
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, 1 pound
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 5 stalks of celery, 5 ounces
- 1 yellow onion, 12 ounces
- 2 small tomatoes, 8 ounces
- 1/4 cup roasted red peppers
- 1/4 cup Castelvetrano olives
- 1 tablespoon non-pareil capers
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves, divided
- 1 cup fresh parsley, divided
- 8 ounces pasta of choice, I like orecchiette or rigatoni
Optional proteins
- 1 15-ounce can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- Or 1 4-ounce tin of mackerel, packed in oil
Instructions
- Dice the eggplant into bite-sized pieces, sprinkle the pieces evenly with a teaspoon of salt. Mix so the eggplant is coated then add it to a colander and let sit to release moisture.
- Thinly slice the celery, dice the onion, dice the tomatoes, slice the peppers. Finely chop the olives and capers. Set all of this aside.
- Set a large pan over medium heat and add 1/4 cup of pine nuts. Toast for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant. Remove from the pan.
- Gently pat off any moisture released from the eggplant. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil to the pan. In two batches, cook the eggplant for 3-4 minutes on each side or until deep brown and collapsed. Transfer the eggplant to bowl and set aside.
- Drizzle another tablespoon of olive oil into the pan, then add the celery, onion, tomatoes, peppers and 1/2 teaspoon of oregano. Season with salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes or until very softened.
- Add the olives, capers, tomato paste, raisins. Toast for a few minutes until the tomato paste is no longer raw. Add the honey and red wine vinegar and cook another 3-4 minutes or until the vinegar sharpness has evaporated away. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the eggplant back in. Reduce the heat to low and add 1 cup of water. Let this reduce as the mixture softens and combines into a softened, stewy texture.
- Remove this caponata from the heat and stir in 1/2 cup of parsley leaves and 1/2 cup of basil leaves. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- While the caponata is cooling, set a large pot of water to boil. Season well with salt. Boil your pasta according to package instructions until al dente.
- When the pasta is finished, drain immediately. "Shock" the pasta by running it under cool water from the sink to immediately cool it. Add the cooled pasta to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the caponata to the pasta bowl. Add the toasted pine nuts. Add the remaining 1/2 cup each of parsley and basil. Add in either the beans or mackerel (whichever you are using). Stir this all together into a big, glossy pasta salad.
- Taste and season with more salt, pepper or vinegar as you prefer and serve immediately.
Comments
I made this and it was delicious! 🙂
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