How to Cook the Caponata Neapolitan Style

There is a great number of various caponata recipes in the Italian cuisine. Every region has its own secrets of making it. Here is the Neapolitan-style caponata recipe. This cold dish is prepared in every Neapolitan family in summer when it is sizzingly hot and one feels like having something simple, light and juicy. They usually cook the caponata for the evening meal. The caponata is actually a kind of salad with big pieces of dry wheat bread “fricelle” which is dressed with good olive oil and salad juice. The olive oil needed should be of first cold extraction with a rich taste of fresh olives. The caponata has a rich basil flavor.

Ingredients for Neapolitan Style Caponata

• 4-5 tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3-4 big pieces dry wheat bread
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 bunch basil
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 100ml/ 3.4 fl oz/ 0.4 cup olive oil
• salt to taste.

Cooking Instructions

1. Wash tomatoes and chop finely. Peel the onion and chop it finely too. Cut the basil into small bits.
2. Put tomatoes, the onion and the basil into a salad bowl. Sprinkle it with oregano, rubbing it between your fingers to get a richer flavor.
3. Dress it with oil, add salt to taste and mix.
4. Let it stand for 30 minutes while tomatoes release their juice.
5. Meanwhile, peel the garlic and rub it into pieces of dry bread.
6. Then put the dry bread into plates, dress them with olive oil.
7. Afterwards put in the tomato salad and pour it over with the juice from the salad bowl.
8. Wait for 10 minutes to let the dry bread soak better and then serve.