Burrata and Salami Focaccia Sandwich with Aubergine Caponata

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The most delicious loaded sandwich that you won’t be able to get enough of. Burrata and Salami Focaccia Sandwich with Aubergine Caponata has all the elements a great sandwich needs. It has salty salami and mortadella, creamy burrata and cheese plus sharpness from balsamic vinegar and of course, the aubergine caponata.

Aubergine caponata is a Sicilian recipe, either eaten warm as a veggie side dish or served cold as part of antipasti. It has a base of tomatoes, aubergine, capers and olives so it really is cooked down into almost a relish with a sharp note from the vinegar too. If you like puttanesca pasta, I imagine you’ll love this.

Lots of Italian delis will sell it and you can buy it by the tub, but supermarkets sell jarred versions too. I’ve put my recipe to make it below too. It makes more than you need for this sandwich but it works on a range of other dishes too. As a veggie side dish, stirred into pasta, spread on toast with a fried egg on top, in any other sandwich too!

How to make aubergine caponata

If you can’t find aubergine caponata anywhere or just want to make your own, here’s the recipe!

woman holding a tub of aubergine caponata

woman spreading aubergine caponata on focaccia with a silver spoon

Ingredients - serves 4 as a light lunch of 6 as a starter

2 large aubergine
100ml olive oil
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
400g tinned tomatoes
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2tbsp capers
30g green olives, pitted and halved
3 teaspoon caster sugar

Method

Cut the aubergine into small cubes. Heat half the oil in a large heavy-based sauté pan. Fry the vegetables in batches until golden-brown, about four minutes. Transfer them to a bowl. Add more oil and sauté the celery and onion to pale gold then add the garlic and chilli and cook for two minutes. Add the tomatoes, about 50ml of water and the vinegar, stir and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes.
Add the aubergine, capers and olives to the pan. Season well and add the sugar. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash is soft and the mixture thick. Remove from the heat and let it sit until it comes to room temperature. Add the parsley and season.
If it’s not going in the sandwich, serve topped with a chunk of mozzarella or burrata. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and some marcona almonds.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find focaccia?

Lots of big supermarkets now sell focaccia so you should be able to find it. Gails does a great one and I know Waitrose stocks Gails. Otherwise, bakeries near you will almost certainly have and it’s a great way to support a local business too. Sub for another kind of bread if you need to though!

Can I make any substitutions to this salami and burrata sandwich?

Yes of course! Use whatever you have – other types of ham are great, any kind of sliced cheese really. Use mozzarella instead of burrata. If you can’t find caponata and don’t want to make, a tomato relish would work well. Maybe even chargrilled red peppers. Use rocket if you don’t have lettuce in. The list goes on.