Caponata (Sicilian: capunata) is a Sicilian dish consisting of chopped fried eggplant/aubergine and other vegetables, seasoned with olive oil, tomato sauce, celery, olives, and capers, in an agrodolce sauce.

[1] Variants may add carrots, bell peppers, potatoes, pine nuts, and raisins.

[2] A Palermo version adds octopus, and an aristocratic recipe includes lobster and swordfish garnished with wild asparagus, grated dried tuna roe and shrimp.

[3] These are exceptions to the general rule of a sweet and sour cooked vegetable stew or salad.

Some suggest it derives from the Catalan language, others that it comes from the caupone, the sailors' taverns.