ca·po·na·ta 
(kä′pə-nätə)
(kä′pə-nätə)n.
A dish of eggplant, tomato, and other vegetables, cooked in olive oil and served at room temperature, often as an appetizer.
[Italian caponata, capponata, from cappone, capon (probably as in cappone di galera (literally, "galley capon"), a sailor's dish of cold moistened hardtack and other ingredients), from Old Italian, from Latin cāpō, cāpōn-.]