Table of Contents
- A Warming Sicilian-Inspired Comfort Dish
- What Is Caponata? A Classic Italian Vegetable Stew
- Caponata vs. Ratatouille – What’s the Difference?
- Why Pork and Fennel Make the Perfect Meatball Combination
- Recipe: Caponata with Pork Fennel Meatballs
A Warming Sicilian-Inspired Comfort Dish
Caponata with Pork and Fennel Meatballs embodies all the classic flavours you’ve come to love and appreciate in Italy – tomato, basil, parmesan, fennel, pork, olives, lemon and olive oil – carefully blended into a multi-layered dish that’s warming and full of texture.
What Is Caponata? A Classic Italian Vegetable Stew
Caponata is a Sicilian dish made from aubergines and other vegetables such as celery and courgettes. The vegetables are stewed in a thick tomato sauce and seasoned with black olives and capers. Recipes for caponata vary between locals, with some adding carrots, peppers, potatoes, pine nuts and raisins.
Caponata vs. Ratatouille – What’s the Difference?
Caponata includes capers and green or black olives. While 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.
Why Pork and Fennel Make the Perfect Meatball Combination
Pork and fennel are a harmonious flavour pairing and are combined in many Italian dishes. Taking inspiration from spaghetti and meatballs, here pork mince is infused with fennel and incorporated into the delicious caponata. A good, delicious olive oil is all you need to give this dish the perfect finish. Drizzle generously and top with fresh, fragrant basil and toasted pine nuts. This is a very heart-warming and memorable dish to serve.
Recipe: Caponata with Pork Fennel Meatballs
Caponata with Pork Fennel Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 500g minced pork
- 60g 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
- 150g 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 them sweat for at least 10 minutes. Chop the remaining vegetables into medium size chunks. Finely chop the 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: Heat 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 in a little water until they form a thick paste. Put all the ingredients for the meatballs, including the mushy breadcrumbs and fennel seed powder, in a bowl and mix well. Be careful not to crush the meat too much as this will make the meatballs tough and dry. There should still be a little bit of texture in the meat so that the fat can work its way through and keep the meatballs 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
