Finely dice the onion and garlic cloves. Cut the eggplant and pepper into 1 cm pieces.
Heat some olive oil in a large pan and sweat the onions until translucent. Then add the garlic and sweat for 1 minute. Stir in eggplant and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Fry until the pieces start to get tender. Stir in the raw cane sugar and let it caramelize briefly. Deglaze with the tomatoes and white wine vinegar. Simmer over medium heat with the lid open for at least 20 minutes until the liquid has completely evaporated. Stir regularly. Season again with salt and then stir in the capers and basil.
Caponata can be served warm or cold, as an antipasto with toasted bread, but also with pasta or rice.
This recipe is a basic recipe. If you want, you can also add olives, almond slivers or roasted pine nuts.