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Caponata with Pork Fennel Meatballs

Caponata with Pork Fennel Meatballs
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Sicilian inspired Caponata with Fennel Meatballs recipe with pine nuts and basil

  • Author: Flaevor
  • Prep Time: 15 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 Minutes
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Pork
  • Method: Stove Top Cooking
  • Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

Scale

Meatballs

  • 250g minced beef
  • 250g minced pork
  • 60g breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar
  • 1 garlic clove crushed (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
  • Sea salt and pepper

Caponata

  • 1 large onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 large aubergine
  • 2 courgettes
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 150g baby plum or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 x 400g tin tomatoes
  • 1 glass white wine
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp light brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp capers
  • 14 pitted black olives, roughly chopped into large pieces

Garnish

  • 4 tbsp pine nuts
  • Basil

Instructions

  1. Cut aubergine into medium chunks, sprinkle with salt and let it sweat for at least 10 minutes. Chop the remaining vegetables into medium size chunks. Finely chop onion and garlic.
  2. Heat oil in a frying pan, cook aubergine for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Remove and set aside.
  3. Fry onions over medium heat until soft, then add garlic, celery, courgette, oregano and cook a further 10 minutes. Return aubergine to the pan.
  4. Chop baby plum tomatoes in half and add to the vegetables along with the tinned tomatoes, wine, vinegar, sugar, and a splash of water. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. (See notes for additional cooking tips)
  5. To make the meatballs: Preheat oven to 200C. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together well. Separate into even-sized meatballs, either circular or slightly oval-shaped.
  6. Place on a greased tray or baking paper and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, turning once halfway through so they are evenly browned.
  7. To finish: Add meatballs to the caponata pan and spoon over the sauce so they are submerged. Cover again and simmer for a further 10 minutes.
  8. Meanwhile, using a nonstick frying pan, gently dry roast pine nuts until lightly browned. Set aside. Next rough chop the olives and capers.
  9. To serve: Stir olives and capers through caponata. Divide between bowls. Garnish with roasted pine nuts, freshly chopped basil leaves, and a drizzle of good-quality olive oil.

Notes

  • Caponata can be cooked relatively quickly in 30 minutes which will produce a delicious tomato vegetable stew. However, when time allows, slowly simmering the sauce down for 1 hour + will produce a much richer glossier decadent sauce.
  • Season sauce with extra salt and pepper as needed

Keywords: What is caponata sauce made from, italian pork recipes, comforting italian recipes, fennel and pork recipes

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