From the way we know it today, it would seem to be a dish of peasant origin with unmistakable references to Arab domination by virtue of the bittersweet balance…
The name caponata would seem to descend from the dolphinfish fish.
Historically, there are no certain sources for the socio-economic location of the dish, there are two prevailing thoughts that support both the birth of the dish with the presence of precious fish that invaded the noble and aristocratic tables while the less well-off classes replaced the precious fish with easily available vegetables.
The enrichment of caponata with lobsters from Lampedusa and prawns from Mazara del Vallo was confirmed during the Spanish domination by the express will of a royal.
Only the intrepid gastronomes are given the news that in the rich versions of caponata there was also the accompaniment with San Bernardo sauce, invented in a Sicilian convent made with almonds, chocolate, anchovies, bread, sugar and vinegar.
The dish in the photo is the historical synthesis of aubergine caponata, and has the ambition to overcome the age-old question never resolved between peasant or aristocratic origin. It uses one of the most characterizing symbols of Sicilian gastronomy “the cannoli” made with Sicilian red prawns and stuffed with eggplant caponata 2.0.
