One of the most comforting and tastiest dishes you could ever eat
This Caponata with Pork Fennel Meatballs embodies all the classic flavours you have come to love and appreciate from Italy – tomato, basil, parmesan, fennel, pork, olives, lemon and olive oil – all carefully combined to produce a multi-layered bowl food that is warming and full of texture.
What is caponata sauce made of
Caponata is a Sicilian dish consisting of chopped fried aubergine and other vegetables such as celery and courgettes. The vegetables are stewed in a thick tomato sauce and flavoured with black olives and capers. Caponata recipes vary among locals with some adding carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins.
What is the difference between Caponata and Ratatouille
Caponata includes capers and green or black olives. Whilst Ratatouille is also a vegetable and tomato-based sauce very similar to Caponata, it doesn’t contain the sour salty addition of capers and olives.
Pork Fennel Meatballs
Pork and fennel are a harmonious flavour pairing and are combined together in many Italian dishes. Taking inspiration from spaghetti and meatballs, here pork mince is infused with fennel and incorporated into the delicious caponata.
Garnish
Good quality and amazing-tasting olive oil is all you need to finish the stew off perfectly. Drizzle the oil over generously and top with fresh fragrant basil and toasted pine nuts. A very heartwarming plate of food!
If you liked this recipe you may also be interested in:
- Gnocchi With Roasted Tomato Parmesan Sauce
- Spiced Ricotta Honey Toast
- Roasted Tomato and Fennel Pasta
Caponata with Pork Fennel Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 500 g minced pork
- 60 g Panko breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 garlic clove crushed or 1 tsp garlic powder
- Sea salt flakes and pepper
Caponata
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 large aubergine
- 2 courgettes
- 2 sticks celery
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 150 g baby plum or cherry tomatoes
- 1 x 400g tin tomatoes
- 1 glass white wine
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 2 tbsp capers
- 14 pitted black olives roughly chopped into large pieces
Garnish
- 4 tbsp pine nuts
- Basil
Instructions
- Cut aubergine into medium chunks, sprinkle with salt and let it sweat for at least 10 minutes. Chop the remaining vegetables into medium size chunks. Finely chop onion and garlic.
- Heat oil in a frying pan, cook aubergine for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Remove and set aside.
- Fry onions over medium heat until soft, then add garlic, celery, courgette, and oregano and cook a further 10 minutes. Return aubergine to the pan.
- Chop baby plum tomatoes in half and add to the vegetables along with the tinned tomatoes, wine, vinegar, sugar, and a splash of water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. (See notes for additional cooking tips)
- To make the meatballs: Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Over medium heat, dry roast fennel seeds until fragrant, approx 30 seconds. Be careful not to over-brown or burn. Remove from the pan and grind into a powder.
- Wet the breadcrumbs with a little water until they turn into a thick mush. Place all meatballs ingredients, including the mushy breadcrumbs and fennel seed powder, into a bowl and mix together well. Be careful not to squash the meat too much as the meatballs will become tough and dry. There should still be a little texture in the meat so fat can work it’s wat through and keep them moist.
- To test the seasoning, fry a small amount of mince in a pan. Adjust with more salt and pepper if needed. Once you are happy with the flavour, separate mince into even-sized meatballs, either circular or slightly oval-shaped.
- Place on a greased tray or baking paper and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven.
- To finish: Add meatballs to the caponata pan and spoon over the sauce so they are submerged. Cover again and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, using a nonstick frying pan, gently dry roast pine nuts until lightly browned. Set aside. Next rough chop the olives and capers.
- To serve: Stir olives and capers through caponata. Divide sauce and meatballs between bowls. Garnish with roasted pine nuts, freshly chopped basil leaves, and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil.
Notes
- Caponata can be cooked relatively quickly in 30 minutes which will produce a delicious tomato vegetable stew. However, when time allows, slowly simmering the sauce down for 1 hour + will produce a much richer glossier decadent sauce.
- Season sauce with extra salt and pepper as needed
