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Title: Angelo's Pickled Eggplant
Categories: Italian Pickle Vegetable
Yield: 1 Servings
| 1 | Bushel eggplant | |
| Pickling salt | ||
| Vinegar | ||
| Salt | ||
| Pepper | ||
| Oregano | ||
| Garlic powder | ||
| Oregano | ||
| Olive oil |
A local restaurant, Angelo's, features an Italian salad that is topped with pickled eggplant. The recipe for pickled eggplant was featured in this week's newspaper.
Start with at least a bushel of fresh, tight eggplant. You'll end up with a couple of gallons of the pickle.
1. First, wash the eggplant and cut off the stems. Be sure to take off enough so that you have no hard core remaining. Peel the eggplant; a good vegetable peeler does the best job, though you may use a knife.
2. Slice the eggplant 1/4 inch thick; then slice again into julienne strips. Sprinkle the strips heavily with salt (pickling or non-iodized) mixing the salt and eggplant thoroughly.
3. Place in a relatively narrow container made of crockery, plastic or enamel, not aluminum. Place a plate that fits inside the container on top of the eggplant and weight it down.
The salt and weight will remove liquid (it will be dark in color) from the eggplant. Drain this liquid and continue to squeeze the eqqplant until no more liquid can be extracted. At home you can use two stainless steel containers, one small enough to fit inside the other, and allow the juice to run out.
When enough liquid has been squeezed from the eggplant, it will be a greenish-gray wad. The importance of getting all the juice out can't be overemphasized. If juice is left in the eggplant, it will dilute the vinegar and oil used for pickling. The juice may make the pickle bitter and reduce its keeping qualities.
4. Break up the mass of eggplant and place in a non-aluminum container.
5. Bring enough white vinegar to cover (or use half vinegar and half water) to a boil and pour hot over the eggplant. Let stand 15 minutes or so to allow the vinegar to penetrate the shards of eggplant. It can be allowed to stand for several hours in the vinegar if necessary.
6. Drain the vinegar from the eggplant and squeeze again, though not so dry as before; some of the vinegar flavor should be retained.
7. Spice according to your own taste. You'll want to include salt, pepper, oregano and garlic powder or granules (not garlic salt). One Italian cookbook recommends 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder and 1 1/2 tablespoons oregano for 5 pounds of whole eggplant.
Mix in spices and enough good quality olive oil to saturate the shards of eggplant. Stir occasionally to mix well. You should be able to taste the vinegar; if not, add more to the mixture. Neither the garlic nor the oregano should dominate the flavor. If you make a mistake and add too much of anything, correct by slicing, salting and squeezing, steeping in vinegar and squeezing another eggplant to add to the mixture.
Before storing in the refrigerator, pour a layer of oil over the top of the mixture to form a 'seal' that will keep air from getting into the eggplant. Cover with a lid. Keeps for up to two months.