Capuliato – The Oldest Italian Pesto

Capuliato is one of the oldest pestos of Italian cuisine. It’s a condiment typical of Sicilian cuisine made of sun-dried tomatoes

The word “capuliato” in Sicilian dialect, means minced. This can refer to many things, like meat, but in the province of Ragusa it refers to minced sun-dried tomatoes.

Capuliato is a mixture of dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, oregano, chili and lots of extra virgin olive oil.

It’s used as a spread for buschette, a condiment for pasta, pizza and more. It’s a concentrate of taste so you can use it to add flavour to anything.

It’s very quick to make and it can be stored in a glass container in the fridge for months, but don’t worry it will be gone sooner than you think!

What you need for this Sicilan capuliato:

• Sun-dried tomatoes (unsalted)
• Fresh basil
• Dry oregano
• Chili flakes
• Garlic
• Extra virgin olive oil

Step by step instructions

Traditionally a meat grinder is used but you can either use a blender or mince the ingredients by hand. 

If the tomatoes are quite hard, you can soak them for a few minutes to make them softer. Make sure they are unsalted or if they have salt, wash them to remove it, otherwise the end result will be too salty.

Take sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and basil and mince them as finely as you can. You can also use a blender.

Add them to a bowl, add oregano, chili flakes and extra virgin olive oil until it covers the rest of the ingredients and mix well. For better flavour place in a sterilised jar and leave it for some hours.  The pesto will keep in the fridge for one week. It’s better if you push the pesto down and cover it with a layer of extra virgin olive oil.

If you want to store it for longer, place the closed jar into a pot filled with cold water, bring the water to a boil and leave it for 30 minutes.

Enjoy with pasta by mixing it with some pasta water or just with toasted bread. 

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Capuliato – Sicilian Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

A super flavourful sun-dried tomato condiment perfect for pasta, bruschette and more.

5 from 3 votes

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Cuisine Italian

Servings 1 jar

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 100 g Sun-dried tomatoes not salted
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10 basil leaves
• 1 1/2 tbsp dry oregano
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes to taste
• Extra virgin olive

Pasta

• spaghetti
• pasta water
• breadcrumbs

Instructions

 

• If the tomatoes are quite hard, you can soak them for a few minutes to make them softer. Make sure they are unsalted or if they have salt, wash them to remove it, otherwise the end result will be too salty.
• Take sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and basil and mince them as finely as you can.
• Add them to a bowl, add the oregano, chili flakes and enough extra virgin olive oil to cover it, then mix well. For better flavour place in a sterilised jar and leave it for some hours. The pesto will keep in the fridge for one week. It's better if you push the pesto down and cover it with a layer of extra virgin olive oil.
• If you want to store it for longer place the closed jar into a pot filled with cold water, bring the water to a boil and leave it for 30 minutes. This will seal the lid on the jar. Once sealed, take the jar out of the pot, and let it cool upside down. Once cooled, you can store it in the pantry for a few months.
• Enjoy with pasta by mixing it with some pasta water or just with toasted bread. If making pasta, cook the spaghetti al dente. Mix some of the pesto with pasta water to make it creamy and in the meantime toast some breadcrumbs. When the pasta is done, mix it with the capuliato, then top with the toasted breadcrumbs.

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