Italian Pickled Eggplant Food

ITALIAN PICKLED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• 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 at room temperature.
• 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, press down on the eggplant to remove any air bubbles and add more oil if necessary before closing the jar. Let sit at least 24 hours before serving. Enjoy!

ITALIAN PICKLED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Please note that due to the large amount of eggplant, I divided the cut eggplant strips into 2 bowls and each step outlined below is repeated with each bowl.

PICKLED GRILLED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Remove the stem end from the eggplants. Cut each eggplant in half lengthwise, and slice into half-inch thick moon slices. In a large mixing bowl, toss the eggplant with the kosher salt and let stand for about 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse and dry the eggplant well, and toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a pinch of pepper. Heat a grill pan over high heat. When the grill pan is hot, cook the eggplant slices until nicely marked on both sides.
• Meanwhile in a small mixing bowl whisk the sugar, and garlic into the vinegar, whisk in the chili paste and remaining olive oil. Add the herbs and check for seasoning with salt and pepper.
• When the eggplant is marked nicely on both sides remove it from the pan and add it immediately to the marinade (a shallow baking dish works nicely to ensure that all of the eggplant is coated in marinade). Let the eggplant cool to room temperature and serve, or refrigerate in a sealed container.

PICKLED EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) - JAMIE OLIVER

Steps:

• Combine water, vinegar and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil.
• Remove the green end of each eggplant. Slice in half lengthwise, then cut across into 1/2" slices. Cut slices into 1/2" batons. Add to boiling brine for 3 minutes. If they float, keep re-submerging them with a spoon.
• Combine oregano, chile, garlic and both oils. Drain eggplant and add to oil mixture. Toss well.
• Put canning jars into boiling water for 5 minutes. Transfer eggplant and oil to canning jars and seal.

EASY SAUTEED ITALIAN EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Cut eggplant into thin slices. Drizzle slices on one side with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.
• Spray a large saucepan with nonstick spray and heat over low heat. Place eggplant in the pan, seasoned-sides down, in a single layer. Drizzle remaining vinaigrette over the exposed sides. Add onion and garlic. Cover and cook until eggplant slices are lightly browned and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

PICKLED EGGPLANT IN OLIVE OIL (MELANZANE SOTT'OLIO)

Steps:

• 1. Peel the eggplants, cut off the ends, and slice lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Cut these slices across, lengthwise again, to obtain long strips the size of skinny fries. Cut them in half if they're too long.
• 2. Place the slices in a colander with a bowl underneath the catch the liquid. Sprinkle with the salt and mix with your hands, giving your eggplant slices a little massage so they are evenly covered in salt. Allow them to sit for 3 to 4 hours, mixing and squeezing the liquid out with your hands every hour or so. You can also place a weight on top to help get the liquid out (a plate topped with a big bag of flour works well).
• 3. After 3 to 4 hours, rinse the slices well with tap water and drain. Squeeze as much liquid out of the eggplant slices as you can, using your hands. Place the squeezed eggplant aside.
• 4. Bring the vinegar and water to a boil. Place the eggplant slices in the boiling mixture and boil for about 2 1/2 minutes. Do not leave in the boiling water longer than 3 minutes or the eggplant will be mushy. It should still have some bite to it. After about 2 1/2 minutes, remove the eggplant from the liquid and drain. Once they are cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess liquid with your hands again (you can also leave the slices to dry for a few minutes on a clean towel, wrapping them in the towel to press some of the liquid out). They don't have to be fully dry but they shouldn't be dripping wet.
• 5. Stuff the eggplant into clean jars, alternating in layers with the chopped parsley and basil, chopped red pepper, and minced garlic. Press down so that everything is well packed. Pour olive oil into the jar until all the ingredients are covered. Press down with a spoon to remove any air bubbles in the jar. Add extra olive if needed, leaving about 3/4 inch of space at the top. Wipe the rims and close the jars. Keep in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freeze.
• 6. Serve on fresh toasted bread or add to any sandwiches. Pickled eggplant is great in pasta salads.

ITALIAN MARINATED EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE)

Steps:

• Peel eggplant.
• Cut the eggplants into thin long strips, like french fries.
• Place in a colander, sprinkle with the salt, and set a plate and a weight on top. Set the colander in a large bowl and set aside for at least 2 hours.
• Squeeze as much water as you can from eggplant.
• Place water and vinegar to boil.
• Place eggplant in boiling water for 3 minutes only. Don't over cook or will be mushy.
• Drain in colander, set a plate and a weight on top. Set colander in a large bowl and set aside for at least 4 hours I do overnight.
• Squeeze any remaining liquid you can out of eggplant. Put eggplant in glass jar with fresh garlic cloves , fresh cut into big chunks hot peppers, fresh mint and good drizzle of olive oil. Shake up and refrigerate. Makes 1 quart. Enjoy!