Pasta Caponata

Pasta Caponata

This one genuinely blew us away the first time we made it. Pasta Caponata takes everything we love about the classic Sicilian sweet and sour aubergine dish and turns it into a proper weeknight dinner that feels a bit special. Roasted aubergine, jammy cherry tomatoes, briny capers, olives and a hit of vinegar all come together in a sauce that's bold, complex and absolutely loaded with flavour. It's the kind of pasta that tastes like it took way longer than 35 minutes, and we mean that as the highest possible compliment. Make this tonight, seriously.

Cook: 35 min
Serves 4

Before You Start

  • Preheat oven to 180°C
  • Large baking tray lined with parchment
  • Large frying pan
  • Large saucepan
  • Small frying pan
  • Microplane or grater (for dark chocolate)

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 aubergines - about 500g
  • 300g cherry tomatoes
  • 1 ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 red onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes good quality
  • 30g capers
  • 2 thyme sprigs
  • 40g raisins
  • 60g Kalamata olives
  • 500g penne pasta
  • 10g dark chocolate
  • 20g parsley leaves
  • 40g pine nuts
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Method

1

For the aubergine

  • Trim the aubergines and chop the flesh into 2cm cubes 
  • Lay on the lined baking tray along with the cherry tomatoes and drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the olive oil
  • Sprinkle with a good layer of salt, pepper and the chilli flakes, put the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes
2

Start cooking

  • Meanwhile, pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into the large frying pan
  • Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic and add to the pan
  • Trim the leaves and root from the celery, then finely chop and add to the pan
  • Cook the onions, garlic and celery for 10–15 minutes, stirring regularly, until they are soft and translucent
3

Finishing the sauce

  • Add the tomato purée to the pan and stir 
  • Add the chopped tomatoes, oregano, thyme, capers, raisins and olives, plus a little salt and pepper to taste, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and let everything cook for 5 minutes
  • Remove the roasted aubergines and tomatoes from the oven and add them to the pan, giving everything a stir
  • Put the lid on and simmer for 12–15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to stop it burning
4

Cook the pasta

  • Boil a kettle and fill the large saucepan with the boiling water and a pinch of salt 
  • Add the pasta and cook until al dente, following the instructions on the packet
  • Strain away the water and tip the cooked pasta back into the pasta pan
5

Finishing up

  • Meanwhile, chop or grate the dark chocolate and sprinkle it into the caponata sauce
  • Chop the stalks from the parsley and save for another recipe, then chop the leaves and add three-quarters to the pan along with the balsamic vinegar
  • Simmer for a further 3–5 minutes with the lid off
  • Taste and season if necessary
  • Pour the sauce over the pasta and fold it in, making sure everything is well covered
  • Put the small frying pan on a medium-high heat and toast the pine nuts in the dry pan until golden
  • Sprinkle over the pasta along with the reserved parsley leaves before serving

Tips & Variations

  • Salt your aubergine well: Don't be shy with the salt before roasting. It draws out moisture and helps the aubergine get that gorgeous caramelised edge rather than going soggy.
  • Balance the sweet and sour: Caponata is all about that agrodolce thing, sweet meeting sour. Taste as you go and adjust the vinegar and a small pinch of sugar until it feels balanced to you. It should make you go 'ooh' when you try it.
  • Pasta water is your friend: Save a good mugful of pasta cooking water before you drain it. Adding a splash to the sauce helps everything cling together beautifully and stops it from feeling dry.

Why This Works

The trick is roasting the aubergine separately rather than just chucking it in the pan. Getting it in the oven first means it goes golden and slightly caramelised, which gives the whole dish a deeper, richer base. Then when it hits the pan with the rest of the ingredients, all those sweet, salty and sour flavours layer up in a way that just works every single time.