Meet Alex Caspero
Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.
Sicilian Caponata Pasta! Tender eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and basil tossed with rigatoni. The perfect plant-based late-summer dinner!
I took everyone’s favorite summer caponata and made it into a pasta! Whenever I see a mix of eggplants and tomatoes at the market, my mind always goes to caponata. It was one of my grandfather’s favorite snacks and one I’ve really grown to love the older I get.
In my house, caponata is basically a cooked vegetable salad with lots of eggplant and plenty of sweet vinegar. It’s slightly sour, tangy yet perfectly sweet and one of the best things to pile on toasted bread this time of year. Think of it as a Sicilian sweet and sour version of ratatouille.
The only problem? That my dear, sweet husband isn’t an eggplant fan and therefore, it’s hard to get up the energy to make this one just for me. I knew if I cooked down the eggplant enough and tossed it with pasta, there was no way he would even know it’s in there.
That’s the real beauty of eggplant. Cook it long enough and it becomes so tender it almost melts into whatever you’re cooking. This is true in my eggplant bolognese recipe and even more true in this simple pasta. The creamy cooked eggplant also replaces any need for dairy; it coats the cooked rigatoni without a drop of cream or butter.
Since I take liberties with almost everything I cook, I wanted to make this the ultimate summer pasta. So I added in zucchini and omitted classic Sicilian flavors like raisins and capers because I wanted Van to love this one as well. It’s not quite as sour as traditional caponata, but it’s pretty perfect if you ask me.
The end of August is always a weird time of year. It’s been over 4 years since I last worked in a University setting, but my body is still wired on an academic schedule. I’m not quite ready to give up summer, but I’m also getting very excited for Fall. I try so hard to not wish away time and to be more present, but it’s always a challenge. Especially on the dawn of a new season and exciting things around the corner…
Pumpkin and apple season might almost be upon us, but I’d like to resist the urge to go there quite yet. Let’s savor all of summers beauties. The tomatoes are at their absolute best right now and I’ve got more zucchini in my fridge then I know what to do with.
Cheers to the dog days! xo
Sicilian Caponata Pasta! Tender eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes and basil tossed with rigatoni. The perfect plant-based late-summer dinner!
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If you like this Sicilian Caponata recipe, then you will also love my 20 minute vegan pasta, Spicy Tomato Penne pasta, vegetarian pasta bake with no-cook noodles, and this simple weeknight zucchini pasta.
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(2 comments) leave a comment
Fantastic end-of-summer recipe; even the kids loved it.
★★★★★
This pasta is SO delicious! Made it for my husband and two kids and everyone loved it.
★★★★★