Caponata, or it's variations on this name like Capunatina, is probably the signature dish of the whole island. With regional differences but beyond that even neighborhood-al differences, differences from one door to the next and likewise every restaurant worth it's salt has their own version of Caponata on the menu either as an antipasti or a contorni.

And I have always taken pride in the caponata I learned to make however mine contains toasted pine nuts which I never thought was weird, in the States I've encountered lots of caponata with pine nuts.

But my Sicilian food guru friend told me just last week that I was not going to find pine nuts in caponata in Sicily! Did she mean just Palermo? Of course she's right, I have had 5 different Caponata and all were innocent of pine nuts. Did I learn it wrong? Or is there some township that agrees with pine nuts?

I reached for Waverley Root, his 1971 publication of The Food of Italy is always my go-to in times of doubt. I have a few copies of his book and one I tore into sections bringing the relevant sections on Lazio (for Rome) and Sicily with me on this trip in case of stressful moments. Waverley spends three and a half pages on Caponata and never once does he say pine nut, but he does go on at length about the various other ways caponata exists, including one that always intrigued me from Syracuse on the exact opposite side of this island where they add grated dark chocolate to their caponata, I was sure I would never encounter such a thing but tonight that is what I had!

Also, here are my dinner dates. The puzzle-faced one likes mortadella.