5 Ingredients or Fewer

Pickled Eggplant

by:
July  3, 2011
5
2 Ratings
Pickled Eggplant
  • Serves many
Author Notes

This is my aunt Marta's recipe. I don't think I have ever been to a meal at her house when this mystifyingly addictive pickled egglant wasn't placed in a small bowl at the table. Usually, mid-meal, she has to get up and replenish the dish.

It brightens up any repast-- chicken, meat or fish-- and added to rice or pasta it can become a meal unto itself. The technique, simply boiling the eggplant in pure apple cider, has aways seemed counterintuitive, but trust me, it works. I hope you enjoy it. —nogaga

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 medium-sized, nice, bright eggplants
  • 2 cups organic apple vinegar
  • 2 plump cloves of garlic
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin, nice and fruity olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced parsley
Directions
  1. Trim the eggplants and cube the eggplants, just under an inch cubed. Place them in small pot and boil in the apple vinegar, about 15 minutes, until the cubes are soft and well-cooked but still hold their shape.
  2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the garlic into a bowl in which you have poured the olive oil. Drain the eggplant (notice how purple the vinegar has become!) and mix it into the olive oil and garlic. Once cool, add the parsley.
  3. Salt and pepper to taste. I very often leave this as is, sans salt and pepper. Enjoy!
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  • AntoniaJames
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  • aargersi
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6 Reviews

AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames July 7, 2011
I ended up putting up blueberries (gallons of them . . . a bumper crop in my front yard) last weekend, so I've got this queued up for tomorrow. I'll be using Japanese eggplant. Can you estimate the volume, as in cups of chopped eggplant, that you use in this recipe? Thanks so much. I'm really looking forward to making (and eating!!) these. ;o)
 
nogaga
nogaga July 7, 2011
Mmmm! I wish I was nearer to your bumper crop of blueberries! Sounds wonderful. I think we are talking about more or less 4 cups of nicely cubed eggplat. The only really important thing here is that all the egplant be boiled in the vinegar. Once you've established that, you're fine. And also I am finding, if it lasts a few days in the fridge, that its nice to replenish the olive oil so it doesn't dry out. Hope you enjoy it!
 
AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames July 5, 2011
What a great recipe! We can get the most lovely Japanese eggplant at my local Asian farmers' market so I've been searching for great new recipes. I would never have thought to make pickles. Brilliant!! Thanks so much for posting this. I'm trying them this weekend! ;o)
 
nogaga
nogaga July 5, 2011
Thank you! Please let me know how it goes this weekend!
 
nogaga
nogaga July 3, 2011
Hi aargersi! My guess is that with the soaked up vinegar and olive oil acting as preservatives, this would last quite a while. It has never lasted more than a week or so in my fridge. I've never seen it go bad, it just gets eaten up. I should have mentioned that it keeps very well, in a jar, in the fridge. Thank you for your comment!
 
aargersi
aargersi July 3, 2011
Yum! I have a short ton of eggplant in the garden right now - adding this to the list of ways to use it - how long do you think it will hold in the fridge?