Teresa DelGiudice is a French and Italian teacher at Pascack Valley High School, and her favorite holiday recipe is for caponata, a Sicilian eggplant appetizer, passed down from her grandmother.

“This is my maternal grandmother’s recipe for caponata. She was born in Monreale (Palermo), in Sicily and immigrated to the U.S. at age five. She kept the language and culture of our family alive, which has greatly influenced me as a teacher of Italian,” said DelGiudice. 

DelGiudice has now taken the role of carrying on the recipe for her family.

“Years after her passing, I decided to make this dish again, and it has now become my contribution at family gatherings, which I make extra for everyone to take home,” said DelGiudice. “These recipes have us reminisce about the days our loved ones were all here, and remember the flavors, scents, and memories of our childhoods.”

Caponata (eggplant appetizer)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 eggplants (2-3 pounds each)
• 1 tablespoon of capers
• Cinnamon 
• 3-4 celery stalks 
• ½ cup of bread crumbs
• Salt
• 6 green olives
• 2 tablespoons of sugar 
• 1 large onion
• 2 ounces of vinegar
• ½ cup of tomato sauce
• Olive oil (or other vegetable oil)

Instructions:

1. Peel eggplant.
2. Cut eggplant lengthwise, about one inch thick.
3. Cut into cubes. 
4. Place eggplant cubes in a bowl of water.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt. Let soak for about one hour. 
5. Take 3-4 stalks of celery and chop into ¼ inch pieces.
6. Boil celery with a little salt in water for 15-20 minutes.
7. Add one heaping tablespoon of unsalted capers and cook with celery.
8. Add 6 chopped green boneless olives. Cook with celery for five more minutes. 
9. After one hour, remove the eggplant from the salt water. Dry on a cloth or paper towel. 
10. Fry eggplant in olive oil. 
11. In another frying pan, brown ½ cup of breadcrumbs on a low flame while turning.
12. When breadcrumbs are lightly golden brown, add one tablespoon of oil and mix well in pan while still cooking.
13. Remove breadcrumbs from the flame and place them aside.
14. Chop one large onion and gently brown the onion with oil in another frying pan.
15. When the onion is brown, add ½ cup of cooked tomato sauce and stir. Let the mixture come to a boil.
16. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 ounces of vinegar. 
17. Remove from flame.
18. Place well-dried, fried eggplant cubes and place in a large bowl.
19. Drain celery, capers, and olives. Mix in a bowl.
20. Add tomato sauce, onion, sugar and vinegar mixture and place in bowl.
21. Add half of the breadcrumbs. Add a sprinkle of cinnamon. 
22. Stir everything together and place in a serving dish. 
23. Top with remaining breadcrumbs and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
24. If desired, top with chopped nuts.