Yesterday, we picked our first crop of Italian eggplants. Usually, I make them stuffed or parmigiana or simply fried. Today, I decided to make them sott'olio (pickled) so that we can enjoy them all year round.
Ideal for appetizers and side dishes or filling for sandwiches.
Ingredients
2 pound eggplant, peeled
and cut into sticks or round
Kosher salt
2 cups white-wine
vinegar
1 cup fresh celery, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves,
coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon finely
chopped oregano or mint (optional)
About 1 1/2 cups olive
oil (approximate)
Preparation
Toss eggplant with 1/4 cup salt and drain in a colander set over a bowl.
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Preparation
Toss eggplant with 1/4 cup salt and drain in a colander set over a bowl.
Cover the eggplant with a plate and a weight (such as a gallon of water), at
room temperature for 4 hours or more. (Eggplant will turn brown.) Discard liquid in bowl.
Gently
squeeze all of the eggplant and place in a bowl.
Cover with vinegar at room temperature for 2 hours or so.
In the meantime, chop garlic, celery, peperoncino, oregano or mint
Drain in colander, then set colander over a bowl and cover eggplant again with a plate and the weight.
Discard liquid in bowl.
Gently squeeze handfuls of eggplant to remove excess liquid, then pat dry with paper towel.
Cover with vinegar at room temperature for 2 hours or so.
In the meantime, chop garlic, celery, peperoncino, oregano or mint
Drain in colander, then set colander over a bowl and cover eggplant again with a plate and the weight.
Discard liquid in bowl.
Gently squeeze handfuls of eggplant to remove excess liquid, then pat dry with paper towel.
Stir together eggplant, garlic, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Transfer to a 1-quart jar or smaller containers with a tight-fitting lid. Use a wooden spoon to press eggplant so as to omit pockets.
Add just enough olive oil to cover eggplant. After a day, oil may drain down the jar, add more oil, if needed, to cover eggplant.
The jars may be kept in the pantry or closet. Refrigerate once jar is opened.
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| Melanzane sott'olio
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of all the many ways to prepare eggplant,this is my favorite.a nice piece of provolone or asiago,some good sicilian wrinkled olives and a hunk of crusty bread and its a perfect meal.now my mouth is watering!
ReplyDeleteJoe, I agree...with a piece of cheese and some bread it makes a great meal.
Deletemy grandma made them like your recipe and then she also had a version that she quick fried with some whole garlic cloves and a couple of hot red peppers before putting them in the jar.both ways were delicious.i dont know why or where the quick fry part of the recipe came from though?i remember she would just put them in the frying pan for about a minute or 2.i really have to make some now!!
Deletejoe
buone!
ReplyDelete