Caponata – A delicious Sicilian eggplant dish made in Instant Pot. Enjoy this vegan and gluten-free caponata warm or cold with bread or pasta, or serve it alongside other dishes.
Earlier this week, I shared loubia, the Moroccan white bean stew, muhammara, the middle eastern red bell pepper, and walnut dip. Now I am back with another international vegetarian recipe, caponata from Sicily, Italy.
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These three dishes are delicious and easy-to-make vegetarian dishes and crowd-pleasers too. If you are looking for vegetarian dishes for your holiday menu, these dishes will come in handy, and I have included a few other dishes below; do check them out.
Caponata – Vegetable medley
I know this caponata is a medley of summer vegetables, but you can find eggplant all around the year in the groceries so that you can try it out irrespective of the season. The ingredient list might sound lengthy, but trust me, it’s an easy recipe. It’s a saute, dump-and-go kind of recipe. Once the chopping is complete, you can make it in less than 30 minutes.
I first read about this dish on the taste atlas website, and the ingredients intrigued me a lot, and I wanted to try it out. Being an eggplant lover, I duly did and made this in Instant Pot with minimal effort and sharing the same today.
I am not claiming this caponata to be the authentic one. There are different types of caponata, and I loosely adapted my recipe from taste atlas and the Mediterranean dish websites. I added few additional ingredients and used red wine vinegar.
Ingredients required
Oil, bay leaf, onion, and garlic: Needless to say, Olive oil works best for this recipe. We first saute the onion and garlic along with the bay leaf. Bay leaf is optional.
Salt and sugar: Yes, we need sugar as well. I add salt and sugar while sauteing the onions. It brings out the moisture, and the pot doesn’t dry out, and it avoids the burn signal in the newer IP models. We don’t add any extra liquids to this recipe.
Vegetables: We need eggplant, celery, tomatoes, and bell peppers. I used canned fire-roasted tomatoes and canned roasted bell peppers. The roasted vegetables enhance the flavor for sure, but you can use fresh ones too.
Olives, capers, and raisins: Apart from the vegetables, we also add green olives, capers, and raisins. It’s a sweet and sour vegetable dish, and the flavors are bold. Try not to skip these ingredients, and these are readily available in the groceries.
Red wine vinegar: It’s the ingredient that adds depth to this dish. Some recipes call for white wine vinegar or a combination of both. Go with what you have but don’t skip for sure. I didn’t see the usage of any other vinegar; it’s either red or white.
Spices and herbs: It’s not a spicy dish, even though we add red chili flakes and ground pepper. It helps to balance the sweet and sour flavor. I used dried Italian seasoning and fresh basil for added flavor.
Dietary specifications and serving suggestions
This caponata is vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free by nature. You can serve it with pasta or bread or bruschetta or serve it as a stew. We loved it in all three ways. :-) I haven’t tried freezing this dish but stored it in the refrigerator for two days.
How to make caponata in Instant Pot?
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode. Add the 3 tbsp of oil and, when the oil is hot, add the bay leaf chopped onion and garlic. Add the salt and sugar as well. Water will ooze out, and it’s normal. Saute until the onion turns soft and tender or for about 3 to 4 minutes. Now turn off the Instant Pot. Turning it off after sauteing onion helps to prevent the burn signal in the newer Instant Pot models.
- Now spread the eggplant and then add the celery and olives on top.
- Next, add the bell peppers, tomatoes, capers, raisins, Italian seasoning, red wine vinegar, black pepper, and chili flakes. Do not mix.
- Close the Instant Pot. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook and set the time to 3-minutes at high-pressure mode. When the cooking is complete, naturally release the pressure.
- Carefully open the lid. Now add some fresh basil, gently mix the caponata. Check for seasoning and adjust at this stage. If you add some seasoning, simmer it for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat. Serve it with pasta, or with bruschetta, or as is.
Recipe notes
- Adjust the salt, spices, and sugar to your taste preference.
- You can use fresh red bell peppers and fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones. Also, black olives work too.
- As we are making it in Instant Pot, it’s won’t be thick like a relish. Eggplant oozes out water when we pressure cook, so it’s more like a stew. When serving on top of bread, drain the liquid and serve.
More vegetarian recipes for parties
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Caponata | Sicilian Eggplant Dish
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¾ tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 large eggplant approx 1 lb 2.5 oz, chopped
- ½ cup celery chopped, 4.1 oz
- 10 green olives chopped
- ½ cup roasted red bell pepper canned, 3.6 oz
- 14.5 oz fire-roasted tomatoes 1 can
- 2 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp raisins
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp ground black pepper heaped tsp or to taste
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp red chili flakes or to taste
- 5 to 7 fresh basil leaves chopped
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot in saute mode. Add the 3 tbsp of oil and, when the oil is hot, add the bay leaf chopped onion and garlic. Add the salt and sugar as well. Water will ooze out, and it’s normal. Saute until the onion turns soft and tender or for about 3 to 4 minutes. Now turn off the Instant Pot. Turning it off after sauteing onion helps to prevent the burn signal in the newer Instant Pot models.
- Now spread the eggplant and then add the celery and olives on top.
- Next, add the bell peppers, tomatoes, capers, raisins, Italian seasoning, red wine vinegar, black pepper, and chili flakes. Do not mix.
- Close the Instant Pot. Make sure the vent is in the sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook and set the time to 3-minutes at high-pressure mode. When the cooking is complete, naturally release the pressure.
- Carefully open the lid. Now add some fresh basil, gently mix the caponata. Check for seasoning and adjust at this stage. If you add some seasoning, simmer it for a couple of minutes and turn off the heat. Serve it with pasta, or with bruschetta, or as is.
Notes
- Adjust the salt, spices, and sugar to your taste preference.
- You can use fresh red bell peppers and fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones. Also, black olives work too.
- As we are making it in Instant Pot, it’s won’t be thick like a relish. Eggplant oozes out water when we pressure cook, so it’s more like a stew. When serving on top of bread, drain the liquid and serve.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
This was so so delicious and easy. Thanks for this fabulous recipe!
Thank you so much.
I made this last night and it is wonderful! I increased raisins and chilli flakes in the pot and it really brought out both sweet followed by spicy! Definitely a favourite now. Oran in the west of Ireland
Thank you. Glad you liked the recipe.
This is a quick and easy stew to put together. Let me see if my family is going to like this.
Thanks Suma. Please try, I am sure your family will love it.
Good one for the weather we have here right now.
ha ha exactly.
This is an amazing stew! Loved that you made it in Instant Pot.
Thanks Radha.