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“My mum’s relatives were from Sicily, and the way I make this dish sits somewhere between her method and how I had it on holiday on the island of Pantelleria (between Sicily and Tunisia) a few years ago. The sauce is agrodolce – sour and sweet – and is often served with pine nuts and raisins, which is not really my vibe. I use tomato puree and wine but passata is more traditional. I love it when dishes hit all these notes to make a perfectly balanced flavour. Caponata is usually served as a snack with drinks, but it’s a main event for me. Serve with dry, crusty bread to soak up the sauce.” – Jesse Jenkins

Caponata

Serves 2-3 as a main dish 

Ingredients 

extra virgin olive oil, for frying
1 large aubergine or 2 smaller aubergines, diced
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4-6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
100g double-concentrated tomato puree
230ml dry white wine
4 tbsp capers, drained
150g green olives, pitted
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp dried red chilli flakes (or more if you prefer it hotter – I do)
1-2 tbsp caster sugar, salt and pepper
toasted bread, for dipping and scooping

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan or casserole dish over a medium heat (you want to heat enough oil to cover the aubergine), then add the aubergine and fry for about 6 minutes until lightly golden. It can seem a bit extra to cover them in oil here, but the flavour and texture you get from frying an aubergine are very unique and important to this dish. Once lightly golden, remove with a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel to soak up excess oil and season with salt.
2. Using 2 tablespoons of the aubergine frying oil (strain and keep the rest for future use), saute the fennel, cherry tomatoes, onions and celery in the same pan over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until soft. Add the tomato puree and wine and cook over a medium heat until the wine has reduced by half. Add the capers, olives, fried aubergine, vinegar, chilli flakes, a generous pinch of black pepper and the sugar (to taste).
3. Check before seasoning with salt – it should be salty enough from the olives and capers. Serve with lots of toasted bread and enjoy.

Cooking With Vegetables by Jesse Jenkins is published by Bluebird and is out now.