Aubergines, Salsa, Green Olives, Capers, Celery and Basil, a mix of fried vegetables, sautéed in a pan, with the addition of Oil, Salt, Sugar and Vinegar, adding Raisins and Pine Nuts at the end. From a few, poor ingredients, a rich side dish like Sicilian Caponata is born.

Many provinces, many versions, a single, great tradition. From province to province, from city to city, from family to family, many variations of a historic recipe such as Caponata.

Starting from Palermo, the Sicilian capital, where aubergines cut into pieces of equal size and whole olives are used, then we move towards Trapani, towards the West, where, given the great tradition of tuna fisheries, the less valuable parts of the tuna are used , such as buzzonaglia, to enrich its taste and flavor even more, after which we descend towards Agrigento where peppers, a pinch of chilli pepper and even pistachios and almonds are added, to give an extra touch of Sicilianity, of which Caponata is already full. Then we move towards Catania, the eastern part of Sicily, where a lot of tomato is used instead of the classic sauce, to finish then in Messina, where the peeled tomato replaces the sauce, making sure that the flavor of the vegetables is very distinctive more, not being covered by the strong flavor of the Salsa.

We can also create a "maritime" variant of our Caponata, adding our Swordfish Fillets at the end of cooking, to give it a further touch of class.

THE RECIPE for 4 people:

• 500 g of aubergines
• 4 Tablespoons of Datterini or Cherry Tomato Sauce
• 100 g of onion
• 100 g of Celery
• 80 gr of Natural Green Olives (or, for a stronger flavour, the Black ones)
• 1 tablespoon of capers Desalted in water
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Basil
• 1 large spoonful of sugar
• 2 spoons of White Wine Vinegar
• salt
• 50 g of pine nuts
• Frying oil q.b.