Trapani-style couscous and eggplant caponata
Preparation time: Above 60 Minuti
Nutritional information: 626 kcal / per serving
Course: First course
Geographic Area: Mediterranean
Enviromental Impact: Moderate (0.59kg CO2 eq)
Recipe in partnership with:
Sicilian cuisine is affected by the continuous cultural exchanges that the island has experienced throughout its history. There is no doubt that the use of eggplant represents one of the most valuable gastronomic, as well as cultural, contaminations.
Ingredients for 4 portions
- Small soup fish 130 g
- Prawns 100 g
- Cleaned mussels 100 g
- Calamari 70 g
- Gallinule 100 g
- Celery 50 g
- Carrot 50 g
- Onion 50 g
- Garlic 15 g
- Fresh chili pepper 5 g
- Olive oil 50 g
- Tomatoes 200 g
- Parsley 10 g
- Pre-cooked couscous 320 g
- Water 1 l
- Baharat spices 7 g
- Eggplant 190 g
- Golden onion 95 g
- Cluster tomatoes 95 g
- Celery 20 g
- Green olives in brine 20 g
- Capers 10 g
- White wine vinegar 20 g
- Caster sugar 20 g
- Fresh basil 15 g
Preparation
For the soup:
Wash, scale and clean all the small fish, then fillet them.
Wash all the bones under cold water, making sure to remove all the blood.
Open the mussels and remove the shells, setting them aside for later.
Clean the shrimp, removing all shells and heads.
Place the shells and heads of the shrimp in a saucepan and cover with cold water, then bring it to a boil.
Let the broth simmer for about 15 minutes, then strain it through a strainer and set aside for later.
Wash all the vegetables and cut them into 1/2-inch cubes (do not make cutouts).
In a large saucepan, heat extra-virgin olive oil with mincedgarlic and fresh chili pepper.
Add the diced onion, celery, and carrot and sauté the vegetables until translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the shrimp stock, all bones and parsley stalks to the sauce and let the soup cook for about 45 minutes, then season with salt and pepper.
When all the vegetables are tender, strain the soup through a strainer, taking care to mash all the vegetables and bones well to extract all the juices, and set it aside for later.
For the couscous:
Pour all the ingredients together in a saucepan.
Let the cous cous cook covered until puffed and softened, salt it, and set it aside.
For the caponata:
Wash all the vegetables, cut them into 1/2-inch cubes keeping them all separate.
In a small saucepan, mix thevinegar with the sugar, bring it to a boil, then set aside at room temperature.
Cut green olives and capers in half.
In a skillet, cook eggplant with a little olive oil until tender, then set aside in a bowl.
Heat the remaining extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion cubes first and let them brown while continuing to stir.
Add the celery, olives, and capers, cook all the vegetables, and finally add the tomatoes.
Cook without forgetting to keep stirring.
Once cooked, combine the mixture with the eggplant, mix it in the bowl, add salt and pepper, then pour in the vinegar and sugar liquid and set aside.
For presentation:
Cook the fish fillets on the skin side in a slightly hot pan, then set aside to warm.
Roast the shrimp in a hot pan with a little olive oil and set aside to warm.
Quickly cook the squid in a frying pan and set aside to warm.
Serve the couscous on a plate along with the soup, arrange all the cooked fish on top and garnish with a few parsley leaves.
Serve the caponata as a side dish.
Enviromental Impact
Moderate
Details
Per serving:
0.59kg CO2 equivalent
Carbon footprint
To limit our impact on the environment, we advise you to remain within 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, including all the courses you eat. Bear in mind that plant-based dishes are more likely to have a low environmental impact.
Even though some of our suggestions exceed the recommended 1 kg CO2-equivalent per meal, that doesn't mean you should never make them; it's the overall balance that counts. Regularly eating a healthy and eco-friendly diet in the long term offsets even the dishes with the most impact, as long as you don't make them too often.