Pickled eggplants

How to make Italian pickled aubergines. Melanzane sotto’olio .

This canned pickled aubergines are highly appreciated in Italian cuisine . A classic and traditional preserve that allows us to have aubergines with all their flavor and that touch of pickle that freaks us out at home.

Perfect to consume throughout the year and of course take advantage of aubergines outside of their season. Ideal for filling a bruschetta and serving a homemade appetizer with our favorite beer.

They are usually consumed as an appetizer or garnish. A little toasted bread with a touch of garlic and the eggplant with its sauce on top.

In Italy they are prepared in each house in a way, I leave you with the one that I was taught in an Italian cooking course a few years ago, with that spicy touch of pepitocino and garlic. And of course, they improve with the months, I advise you to leave at least 2 months at rest before consuming them.

At the end of that time we will enjoy all the aromas of the ingredients and the flavor of the authentic pickled aubergine.

A delicious dish with all the flavor of Italy …

Eggplants. We started the day before

1. We wash the eggplants and remove the stem.
2. We cut lengthwise into centimeter-thick slices. Then we cut the slices diagonally to have canes one centimeter wide, more or less.
3. We place a rag in the bottom of a large drainer and add a layer of aubergines, salt and repeat with several layers of aubergines until they are exhausted.
4. Cover with a plate and put weight (a casserole with water can be used) making sure that the lid presses on the aubergines.
5. We leave overnight.

Preparation of the pickled aubergines

1. The next day we take out the aubergines and place them on a dry cloth.
2. Wrap and squeeze the rag until all the liquid is removed.
3. In a saucepan, pour the apple cider vinegar and add the same amount of water. Bring to a boil and cook the aubergines for 3 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and spread the aubergines on a counter to cool.
5. In the meantime, we cut the pepitocino into thin slices, wash and drain the dill, oregano and bay leaf and chop the first two. Peel and chop the garlic.
6. When the aubergines are cold, add the pepitocino, the spices, the bay leaf and the minced garlic.
7. We take a clean hermetic jar (we can sterilize it with the help of the oven or by cooking the jars in boiling water) and we add the eggplants with the help of a spoon.
8. Every time we make a layer we cover with corn oil and press with a mortar to remove air.
9. We continue to fill the pot. We cover with oil and remove the rest of the air.

Conservation of pickled aubergines

1. We put the lids of the jars where we are going to prepare our preserves to cook in water: As soon as the first bubbles begin, we remove.
2. Hot, we cover the cans with their corresponding lid. We place the closed jars in a large pot with water, which overflows about 5 cm to the jars.
3. We make a first layer, we put a rag. We put a second layer of cans, ensuring that the water is always above the cans.
4. We cook in a bain-marie for at least 10 minutes. At the end of that time the fire goes out.
5. We let them cool in that container. During this process, a bottle may leak liquid, it is normal nothing happens.
6. Once cold, we dry and store our boats in a clean, dry place where the light does not give it much light.
7. First we will place them inverted (with the lid down) to promote sealing.
8. In about a week we turn them around. So these canned pickled aubergines are perfectly sterilized and closed.

You can see all the step-by-step photos of this recipe for pickled aubergines in this album.

Tips for some yummy pickled aubergines. Conservation

• Eggplants provide a large amount of minerals and vitamins, to which is added a good dose of fiber.
• Pickling or pickling is a food preservation technique that normally begins with cooking in vinegar, as is the case with this recipe. They will last us a whole year or even longer.
• To prepare the Italian-style pickled aubergines, keep in mind that we will need to rest them all night to release the excess liquid from the inside and that we will need a very clean bottle in which to preserve the pickle for at least a month. , on a cool, dry shelf.
• Perfect preserves for the whole year, cold or hot. With them you can prepare thousands of recipes.
• It is important that we keep them in a cool and dry place, away from direct sunlight.
• After this time the eggplants are ready to be enjoyed.