pickled eggplant

This easy Italian Pickled Eggplant or Melanzane sott&#039;olio recipe never tasted so good. Sliced pickled eggplant mixed with fresh spices and stored under oil.

Italian Pickled Eggplant

Italian eggplants* (see notes) (6-7 inches) ((16-17 cm))

salt

water

white wine vinegar

garlic (minced)

parsley

hot pepper flakes (if desired)

olive oil (enough

Peel and thinly slice the eggplant, I cut it crosswise in three, then thinly sliced them (see photos), do them one at a time, after you have done one, place the cut eggplant in a bowl and toss with 1 teaspoon of salt, continue with each eggplant. Cover the bowl and let sit for 8 hours.

After the 8 hours, drain the liquid (but do not rinse the eggplant) and squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible.

In a big pot bring to a boil the water and white wine vinegar, add the eggplant and boil for about 7-10 minutes or until tender. Taste one to make sure it is tender.

Drain the eggplant and again wring out excess moisture. Place the eggplant in a large bowl and toss with the spices. Spoon into the sterilized jars , leaving at least 3/4 inch of space, then top with oil.  Make sure that the eggplant is completely covered with oil before closing the jar. Let sit at least 24 hours before serving. Enjoy!

This traditional Makdous recipe is for olive-oil cured vegan stuffed eggplant with a red pepper, chilli, walnut and garlic filling - Perfect for breakfast or a side dish alongside other mezze

Pickled Stuffed Eggplants Makdous

baby eggplants

red peppers

chill peppers (small ones)

walnuts

garlic

Boil enough water in a large saucepan and then add the eggplants. Boil for 5-10 minutes until the eggplants are softened

Once they have softened, turn off the heat and let them rest in the water for 10-15 minutes. Then drain them.

Cut the tops of the eggplants. Then carefully slice half-way through, lengthwise - like a book.

Rub some salt on the inside of each eggplant then arrange them on a flat surface, not touching each other and press them with a heavy object. You could use a big pan lid or the bottom of a flat dish to place on top of them, then add another heavy object on top. Alternatively, you could arrange them within a colander and press with a heavy object.

With the combination of pressing and salt, this should help remove all the excess water from the eggplant. Keep them pressed for a few hours or even overnight to get as much of the water out as possible. The key is to keep them in a cool area, and this process can take up to 24 hours, do be patient and check them after every 5-6 hours. See video.

When you are ready to proceed, first make the stuffing. Slice the peppers and remove all seeds. Then either finely chop them or blitz them in a food processor/blender for a bit. 

Next, strain the liquid from the crushed peppers. You can put them in a sieve and press out all the excess liquid.**

Mash or grind the garlic cloves and roughly chop the walnuts. If you prefer, you can grind the walnuts into even smaller pieces. Then, mix the peppers, nuts and garlic together.

Stuff the eggplant shells with about 1 tBsp of the pepper walnut mixture. Depending on the size of the eggplants, adjust the amount.

For the next step, use a sterilised clean glass jar. To sterilise the jar, simply wash it with hot water, then put it in the oven (no rubber parts) for 10 minutes at 160ºC. Or after washing, pour boiling hot water over the jar ( just make sure it's heat-safe!

Arrange the stuffed eggplants in the jar. Stack them carefully so that the stuffing doesn't fall out

Sprinkle liberally with salt on top then fill the jar with olive oil. Make sure all the eggplants are entirely covered and tightly close the jar. **

Store your jar in a cool, dark place such as a kitchen cupboard. The pickled eggplants - Makdous - will be ready in about 10-14 days ( although some people find they're ready at seven). If at any point you notice that the olive oil isn't entirely covering the eggplants, add more olive oil. 

If you keep them in the oil, completely covered, the Makdous can keep for up to a year. No need to refrigerate, just keep at room temperature in your cupboard as the olive oil acts as a natural preserver. 

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/PjAtK8pT.mp4

This vegan recipe for traditional Makdous (cured eggplant) is perfect for breakfast or a side dish. The eggplants are cured olive oil and stuffed with a red pepper, chilli, walnut and garlic filling.

Simple Stuffed Makdous Recipe (cured eggplant)

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Italian Pickled Eggplant

Pickled Stuffed Eggplants Makdous

Top 2 pickled eggplant recipes from across the web

The most viewed pickled eggplant recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Italian Pickled Eggplant

Pickled Stuffed Eggplants Makdous

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