Rhonda Canfield wrote in this request to Recipe
Du Jour's great newsletter:
"I'd like a recipe for pickled eggplant...My great aunt used to make it.
I believe it was Italian and it had a lot of olive oil and vinegar. It was
really yummy, but she died without writing down the recipe. Any help would be appreciated.
"
I wrote to her, that although I'd never heard of pickled
eggplant, she might like my recipe for Eggplant
Escabeche. Later she responded:
"In the week and a half since my request was published, I have received
several versions of eggplant recipes. It seems that there's almost as many
ways to pickle eggplant as there are eggplants!"
Dilute vinegar with half water. Put in
red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil,
put in peeled eggplant slices and boil a few minutes, drain and cool. In a
jar put a little olive oil, then eggplant, garlic,
oregano until jar is filled.
Let stay a week and store.
"My mother remembers the eggplant slices being salted and allowed to drain
before the vinegar treatment, but Maureen didn't include it in her
instructions.
3 Eggplants
3 C. White Vinegar
1 C. Olive Oil
1/4 C. White Vinegar
1/2 C. Wine Vinegar
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
2 Celery Stalks, Chopped
2 Lg. Red Peppers, Diced
Dried oregano
In large bowl, slice 3 eggplants (without skin). Place in colander, sprinkle
with
salt and layer between paper towels. Put a heavy bowl on top. Set aside
for 2 hours. In large bowl combine 3 cups of white vinegar with drained eggplant and leave overnight.
Next morning, wring out each slice twice and cut into strips. put in large bowl mixed with 1 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup white
vinegar, 1/2 cup wine vinegar, 3 garlic cloves minced, chopped celery stalks, 2 large red
peppers diced and a dash of
dried oregano (optional). Mix well and put into Mason Jars and
refrigerate. Lasts 2 to 3 months.
"Another offering came from 'Nancy from NY' and was taken from
"About.com" and called:"
Josephine Caravetta's Pickled Eggplant
6 Eggplants
Kosher Salt
White or Cider Vinegar
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
One bunch parsley, minced
Some mint, minced (Optional, but nice)
1/2 - 1 teaspoon
red pepper flakes
1/4 green bell pepper, minced
Slice the eggplant thinly, and cut the slices into thin strips. Layer the
strips in a colander and mix with some kosher salt. Place the colander in the sink, put a dish on top of it and put something heavy on top of the dish
to weigh it down. This helps to take the bitterness out of the eggplant.
After one hour, squeeze the eggplant (Nonni's instructions -- gets the bitter juices out).
Take a large pot and put in the eggplant. Cover with a ratio of 2 cups of water to 1 cup of the vinegar.
Bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, shut the heat off and allow the eggplant to cool in the water.
In a large bowl place the slice garlic, chopped herbs, red pepper, green pepper.
Squeeze as much water out of the eggplant as you can, and place it in the bowl.
Pour in some extra virgin olive oil (at least a cup) and a 1/4 cup of vinegar.
Stir well. Place the eggplant in a jar (I use Mason jars, as did Nonni), pressing down to remove any air.
Leave out an inch at the top, and pour in some olive oil so that all the eggplant is submerged.
Cover with a lid, and let marinate for one month in the refrigerator.
"Mangia! I may have more to share later, but for now, I have to dress and feed my
3-year-old who is tapping me on my typing arm saying, 'Mommy, mommy, mommy, I want to go for a
walk!'"
