Spaghetti with summer caponata

Name: Spaghetti with summer caponata
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: Spaghetti 11.3 oz; Pine nuts 2 ½ tbsp; Eggplant 10.5 oz; Red peppers 1 cup; Yellow peppers 5.3 oz; Cherry tomatoes 1.3 cups; Zucchini 1.7 cups; White onions 1 cup; Taggiasca olives 1.8 oz; Capers in vinegar 1.1 oz; Basil 4 cups; Extra virgin olive oil 3 ½ tbsp; Water 1.8 oz; Fine salt to taste

Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Serving: 4
Cost: Average

PRESENTATION

Spaghetti with Summer Caponata takes the flavor logic of Sicilian caponata — eggplant, zucchini, and peppers tempered by briny capers and taggiasca olives — and turns it into a creamy pasta sauce rather than a chunky vegetable topping. A quick blending step transforms the sautéed vegetables into something velvety enough to coat every individual strand, which is what separates this caponata pasta from a standard caponata served alongside. The result is a genuine, vegetable-rich first course that works just as well at a relaxed family lunch as it does at a summer dinner with friends, and it comes together without anything complicated standing between you and the finished bowl.

The capers and taggiasca olives carry real sharpness and salt, cutting through the natural sweetness of the eggplant, zucchini, and peppers and keeping the sauce from going soft or one-dimensional. That contrast is what holds everything together, giving each bite a bit of brightness against the smooth, enveloping base. The blended sauce clings to the spaghetti rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl, so the balance of creamy vegetable richness and briny edge stays consistent from the first forkful to the last.

INGREDIENTS

Spaghetti 11.3 oz (320 g)

Pine nuts 2 ½ tbsp (20 g)

for the caponata: Eggplant 10.5 oz (300 g); Red peppers 1 cup (150 g); Yellow peppers 5.3 oz (150 g); Cherry tomatoes 1.3 cups (200 g); Zucchini 1.7 cups (200 g); White onions 1 cup (150 g); Taggiasca olives 1.8 oz (50 g); Capers in vinegar 1.1 oz (30 g)

for the basil sauce: Basil 4 cups (100 g); Extra virgin olive oil 3 ½ tbsp (50 g); Water 1.8 oz (50 g); Fine salt to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Spaghetti with summer caponata

To make the spaghetti with caponata, start by peeling and chopping the onion 1. Then dice the red and yellow bell peppers very finely 2 and the eggplants 3.

Do the same with the zucchini 4, then cut the cherry tomatoes into small wedges 5. Immediately after, sweat the onion in a pan with a little oil until translucent 6.

As soon as it’s ready, add the bell peppers 7, the eggplants 8 and the zucchini 9.

Cook everything over medium-high heat for 5 minutes 10, season with salt and add the cherry tomatoes 11 and the olives 12.

Finish with the capers 13 and cook for another 10 minutes. To give the sauce a creamy texture, take two tablespoons of vegetables from the pan 14 and place them in a small container with a splash of water 15, just enough to emulsify the caponata.

Blend with an immersion blender 16 and then return the purée to the pan with the rest of the sauce 17. At this point, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti, taking them out 2 minutes before the time indicated on the package 18.

While the pasta cooks, chop the pine nuts 19 and prepare a basil sauce: in a small container place the fresh basil 20 with a drizzle of oil 21.

Add about 1.7 fl oz (≈50 ml) of water 22, season with salt 23 and blend everything with an immersion blender 34.

Set this emulsified sauce aside 25. Loosen the pan sauce with a ladle of the pasta cooking water 26. Then drain the spaghetti directly into the pan with the sauce 27.

Toss briefly 28. Finally, finish everything with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and plate. Spoon a little basil cream onto the base of each plate 29, place a nest of spaghetti on top and finish by sprinkling with the chopped pine nuts. The spaghetti with summer caponata are ready to be enjoyed 30.

Storage

We recommend eating the spaghetti with summer caponata immediately.

You can prepare the caponata and the basil sauce in advance and store them in the refrigerator.

Storage

You can replace the pine nuts with other nuts, for example toasted blanched almonds, plain cashews or sunflower seeds. If you need to avoid nuts altogether, replace the final crunchy note with breadcrumbs toasted in a pan with a little oil and a pinch of salt.

For the translation of some texts, artificial intelligence tools may have been used.

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