In Italian, the word “zucca” can refer to both an overgrown zucchini, a marrow and a pumpkin, but to avoid confusion, we call a pumpkin “zucca gialla,” (yellow pumpkin).
When it comes to Sicilian caponata, the delightful dish is commonly made with eggplants (Caponata Palermitana), and eggplant and peppers (Caponata Catanese). But the creativity doesn’t stop there! You can find variations featuring celery, fennel, and even potatoes. One other standout is the Caponata di zucca gialla, which showcases the sweet, earthy flavors of pumpkin as the star ingredient. Each version of caponata offers a unique twist on this iconic classic, highlighting the versatility of Sicilian cuisine.
The principle for making any Sicilian caponata is the same: onion, celery, the key ingredient (eggplant or eggplant and peppers, fennel, potato etc.), capers, green olives, sometimes a splash of tomato puree, toasted pine nuts, or almonds and agro-dolce sauce – caramelised sugar and vinegar.
The ingredients a fried separately. Pumpkin first – sauté and then set aside.
Sauté onion and celery. Add olives and capers.
Add sugar, then vinegar and salt to taste. Add the fried pumpkin and toasted almonds (or pine nuts). Let rest overnight or for at least half a day.
The other popular Sicilian way to cook pumpkin is also in an agro-dolce sauce.
For this recipe, slices of pumpkin are also fried. I bake mine but it is not the traditional way of cooking it. The recipe is one of a number of Sicilian caponate in my book Sicilian Seafood Cooking (now out of print).
The recipe is called Fegato con sette cannoli. To see the recipe and find out why this recipe is called Liver with seven reeds:
Sicilian Pumpkin with vinegar, mint, sugar and cinnamon
CAPONATA DI NATALE (Christmas, winter caponata made with celery, almonds and sultanas)
FENNEL CAPONATA (Sicilian sweet and sour method for vegetables)
CAPONATA of Potatoes(General information and recipe for Caponata di patate)