Cappelletti with caponata

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 400 g pasta, cappelletti, fresh (refrigerated section)
• 2 large eggplants
• 2 onions
• 1 Celery (heart with green)
• 150 g green olives, pitted
• 200 g tomatoes, fresh
• 50 g capers, pickled in salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus some for drizzling
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 10 fresh basil leaves and some for garnishing
• Salt
• Pepper, colored, from the mill

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

Cappelletti with braised vegetables Sicilian style

Clean the eggplants, slice them, and season them with salt on both sides (so they don’t absorb as much oil later). In the meantime, peel the onions and slice them into thin rings. Finely chop the celery root, leaving the tender green parts intact. Slice the olives. Peel the tomatoes (this works best if you first blanch them in boiling water) and crush them. Drain and rinse the capers. Pat the eggplants dry with kitchen paper and cut into cubes. Heat 100 ml of olive oil in a large pan and fry the eggplants over low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, until soft, turning occasionally. Then remove and drain on kitchen paper. Fry the onion rings in the pan for a few minutes. Then add the celery and green parts, olives, capers, and tomatoes, and sauté everything for about 10 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Add the eggplants back and sauté over low heat for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then stir in the sugar and red wine vinegar and simmer for about another 5 minutes. Add the basil and season to taste with salt and a few grinds of freshly ground pepper. Cook the cappelletti in plenty of boiling, salted water according to the package instructions, then drain and carefully mix with the vegetables. Garnish with a few small basil leaves and drizzle with a little olive oil. I serve this with shaved Grana Padano, fresh ciabatta, and a few rolled slices of Parma ham.