Sweet and sour Eggplant Caponata makes a tasty appetizer on pizza dippers, toasted Italian bread or placed on top of grilled chicken or fish.
With Super Bowl Sunday on the horizon, I wanted to come up with a few healthy appetizer recipes to share with you this week so that you can still pick on all of that glorious food that comes with the parties each year without the dreaded extra fat and calories.
Let me just say that this first recipe for Eggplant Caponata with Pizza Dippers will not disappoint. In fact, you can make it all year round and will want to, trust me.
What is Caponata?
Caponata is a Sicilian eggplant dish made with cooked vegetables including celery, tomatoes, basil, garlic, and onion; then sweetened with vinegar, sugar, olives and capers in a sweet and sour sauce. It’s typically used as a side dish, appetizer and even a vegetarian main dish.
I remember growing up my grandmother and aunts would always have caponata on our antipasto platters around the holidays and I’m sorry to say I was never a huge fan.
I guess that’s why I never really tried making it myself. But now I LOVE eggplant any way it’s prepared and I’m so glad I made this caponata to try for myself.
Eggplant Caponata is simple to make and can be ready in about 20 minutes on top of the stove. Previously, I’ve only eaten it cold, but I have to say after making this homemade version, I kind of liked it better on the warm side; which really brought out the sweet, tangy flavors of this dish.
How do you make Eggplant Caponata?
To make caponata start off by cutting all of your vegetables in small, bite sized pieces. Remember, it’s going to be used like a dip similar to bruschetta. Next, heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat and add your vegetables.
Allow them to soften for about 5 minutes; then add vinegar, sugar, olives and capers. Cook for another 10-15 minutes on low heat; then remove from heat. You can serve it warm or cold, but keep covered in the refrigerator until you’re ready.
Now I chose to serve mine out of the norm with pizza dippers; which is basically pizza dough sprinkled with some dried oregano and shredded mozzarella cheese; then cut into pieces and baked. I used refrigerated pizza dough so all I had to do was roll it out a bit so it was a little thinner and add my toppings.
You could also toast some sliced Italian bread and place the caponata on top and serve already assembled, but we liked being able to top our own pieces of bread. Another great use for caponata is to place it on top of grilled chicken or fish.
As an added bonus, this recipe for Eggplant Caponata contains only 10 calories and .6 grams of fat per tablespoon and the Pizza Dippers contain 15 calories and .6 grams of fat per piece (25 calories and 1.2 grams of fat per appetizer piece). So go ahead and indulge. ~Enjoy!
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Ingredients
For the Eggplant Caponata
- 2 c. Small Diced Eggplant
- 2 Plum Tomatoes, small dice
- 1/4 c. Small Diced Onion
- 1 Stalk Celery, small dice
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. Fresh Basil, chopped
- 1 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 6 Pitted Kalamata Olives, chopped
- 1 tbsp. Capers
- 1 tbsp. Granulated Sugar
- 2 tbsp. Red Vinegar
For the Pizza Dippers
- 1 Package Refrigerated Thin Crust Pizza Dough
- 1/2 c. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 2 tsp. Dried Oregano
Instructions
For the Eggplant Caponata
- Cut all of your vegetables in small, bite sized pieces.
- Next, heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat and add your vegetables. Allow them to soften for about 5 minutes; then add vinegar, sugar, olives and capers. Cook for another 10-15 minutes on low heat; then remove from heat. You can serve it warm or cold, but keep covered in the refrigerator until you're ready.
For the Pizza Dippers
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Open the dough and roll it out to 1/4" thick; then sprinkle the cheese and oregano on top.
- Cut the dough into 24 strips, place on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; then bake for 5 minutes until the dough has risen and has lightly browned.
Notes
Nutrition
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What a creative way to use eggplant! Looks so yummy! Pinned.
Thank you Leia!
This is a must make for game day, have to balance out all the other not so healthy stuff!
what a great appetizer!
Love the look of this, I always wonder what to do with egg plant. Will have to give this a go, I think my family would love it
One of my other favorite ways to use eggplant is to use it in roasted ratatouille, it’s so good. Thanks for stopping by Alison!
My husband loves eggplant and this is a dish he asks for often. I love that you served it with pizza dough – delicious!
Thanks Joanie, it tastes great on top of grilled chicken too!