Italian Pickled Eggplant

Italian Pickled Eggplant, don’t let the process intimidate you! Prepare authentic homemade pickled eggplant that doesn’t compare to store bought and serve as antipasto, in sandwiches or even on pizza. Deliciously flavored with garlic, dried chilis, oregano and fennel seeds just like my mom makes!Yet another eggplant recipe on my Sicilian food blog! Of course, there’s no end to Sicilian recipes with eggplant. But this is no ordinary eggplant recipe, in fact it requires no cooking whatsoever. Italian pickled eggplant is what many Italians are preparing this time of year. That is along with peppers, tomatoes, giardiniera, tomato sauce and so on.

I’m going to admit something to you, I actually don’t can tomatoes with my family. There, I said it. I tried once or twice in my garage, as most Italians do. Now I know I may face backlash for saying this, but I just felt that it was quite labor intensive and not worth the effort. I buy my tomato passata imported from Italy at my local Italian grocery store and stock up when it’s on sale.

So now that I got that out of the way, I decided to focus my time on preserving other vegetables, such as Italian Pickled Eggplant. My son goes through several jars each year adding them to sandwiches, salads and even in stuffed pizza. So I decided it was time to learn my mother’s easy method for pickling eggplant, and while we’re at it involve my son in the process as well.

Choosing the right eggplant for pickling:

We began the day with a trip to the Jean-Talon Market. Those of you who live in Montreal or have visited our fine city know that the Jean-Talon Market is THE place to go if you’re a foodie. Honestly, I become giddy with excitement when I’m there surrounded by all the amazing colorful fruits and vegetables and I want to buy everything in sight! It’s open year round but I prefer visiting during the summer months.

I followed my mom around the market in search of the right eggplant. We must have circled the market at least three times looking for the best quality at the best price. I probably would have purchased the first ones I saw!

We finally settled on these beautiful globe eggplant. Look for eggplant that is firm and not bruised or wrinkly looking. It is also preferable to choose small to medium sized eggplants that have less seeds than the larger variety. But honestly,just about any variety of eggplant will do.

Equipement

Not much at all actually! This recipe involves no cooking whatsoever, so no pots or pans needed here. Here’s all you need:

• cutting board
• sharp knife
• non-reactive bowls (2 if you make the full recipe): ceramic, stoneware, or glass bowls are best.
• colanders (2)
• a couple of salad plates to place upside down over the eggplant and place a weight on top (full explanation further below)
• heavy objects to press down on the eggplant during the various stages of pickling: a large tomato can; a plastic bottle of oil or white vinegar or even some paving stones that you may have lying around will do (which is what I used). I rinsed them and placed them in plastic bags to make sure they didn’t come into direct contact with the eggplant.
• jars for storage: I used 3 -500 ml Mason jars with double lid system. Any jars will do as long as they are sterilized.
• fork: to press down on the eggplant to ensure it is tightly packed in the jars.

Step by Step Instructions

The method I am sharing is a tried, true and tested recipe that my mother has used for several decades and her family made in Sicily as well.  You’ll notice the prep time in my recipe card says 54 hours, but don’t let that intimidate you. Most of the time is inactive time waiting for the eggplant to soak or drain excess liquid.

Also, please note that due to the large amount of eggplant, the cut eggplant strips were divided into 2 bowls. Repeat all steps for both bowls. The complete, printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post.

Day 1 – Salt the eggplant

Wash the eggplant and dry well. Remove some of the peel. You’ll notice we removed strips of peel and left about half of it on. This is really a question of preference, you can remove all of it, none or half as we did. 

Slice into approximately 1 cm rounds and then into matchsticks of about 3/4 cm.

Divide the eggplant strips into 2 large non reactive bowl adding course salt in between layers of eggplant. Place a dinner plate over the eggplant strips and weigh the plate down with a heavy object of your choice. This can range from a large heavy can, a full bottle of oil or vinegar (in a plastic bottle!) or I happen to have a few paving stones handy that I later covered in a plastic bag.

Let sit on your counter for 24 hours. After a few hours you’ll notice I switched to a salad plate. With time the larger sized dinner plate was too wide to adequately press down on the eggplant.

Day 2 – Stir in vinegar

After 24 hours, you’ll now notice the dark colored water surrounding the eggplant strips as well as the fact that they have greatly reduced in volume. The salt in the eggplant draws out the water and bitter juices from the eggplant. This is what you are looking for.

Drain the eggplant in a large colander. Place the colander over a bowl and once again, place a plate over the eggplant and weigh it down with your heavy object. This is to squeeze out as much of the water as possible.

After 2 or 3 hours, transfer the eggplant back to your large bowl and stir in white vinegar. Once again, place your plate over the eggplant and weigh it down for another 24 hours.

Day 3-Place in jars

You’re now ready to place your eggplant in jars. Sterilize your jars and lids following the easy method outlined here. I used 3 -500 ml jars.

Drain the eggplant strips in your colander and as you did the previous day. Weigh them down once again for 2-3 hours hours to drain out all the vinegar.

Next, squeeze out as much water as possible by taking a handful of eggplant strips at a time and squeezing them with your hands. You’ll be surprised to see how much more liquid comes out of them!

Place the squeezed eggplant back in your bowl. Toss with oil; slivered garlic; dried chili torn into small pieces; dry oregano and, if desired, a few fennel seeds.

Drizzle a little oil at the bottom of each jar to coat it. Begin packing in the eggplant strips using a fork and pressing down firmly to pack the eggplant in as tightly as possible. Continue until you reach approximately 2.5 cm below the top of the jar. Pour in enough oil to cover the eggplant but not too much so that the lid touches the oil.

Place the lid on the jar, but not too tightly yet. Let the jars sit for a few hours and if you notice they have absorbed more oil and are no longer completely covered with oil, remove the lid and pour in extra oil. Now place the lid on tightly. Continue with the other jars.

Storage

Store pickled eggplant jars in a dark, cool place. Most Italians have a cold room or cantina which is filled with shelves full of jars of pickled veggies, tomato sauce and the occasional prosciutto hanging from the ceiling!

Now when I asked my mom how long these lasted in the cantina, she answered indefinitely. I also asked whether we should seal the jars in a water bath and she scoffed. Of course, they never did in Sicily.

Here are a few options on how to store your pickled eggplant:

• Store in a dark cool place for up to 6 months making sure that they are always covered in the oil. 
• If you are concerned with long term storage and spoilage and you have the space, you may keep the jars in your refrigerator. Since this recipe uses vegetable oil instead of olive oil, it will not solidify in the refrigerator.
• Finally, if you absolutely want to be on the safe side, seal the jars in a water bath as described here.

Once the jar is opened, store in the refrigerator and continue to top the eggplant with oil if not completely covered.

 To serve 

-Pickled eggplant is typically served as antipasto (appetizer) with fresh crusty bread before a meal.

-Add to your antipasto platter surrounded by other pickled and cured ingredients such as cold cuts; other pickled vegetables; cheeses; and olives.

-One of our favorite ways of enjoying pickled eggplant is in sandwiches especially in a sausage panini, or even in a stuffed pizza such as a rotolo or calzone.

Tips and suggestions:

• This recipe will work well with just about any type of eggplant. Just be sure to look for fresh eggplants that are firm and are not wrinkly.
• Vary the flavoring ingredients: mint, basil, or parsley are a few suggestions.
• My mother uses a neutral flavored oil such as vegetable oil (canola or sunflower oil are other options) since olive oil solidifies when refrigerated. But you can use olive oil if you prefer.
• Refer to the section above on how to store pickled eggplant.
• The eggplant is ready to eat right away, however it is best enjoyed after at least a month when the flavors have had time to mingle and the eggplant becomes increasingly tender.
• This recipe makes 3 -500 ml jars (16 ounces or 2 cups), but if you find it difficult to consume such a large quantity once refrigerated, try using 6 -250 ml jars instead.
• The recipe may also be halved to fill 3 -250 ml jars.

I hope this recipe inspires you to try pickling your own vegetables this Fall. You can pickle a variety of vegetables with this same technique including hot peppers (recipe coming soon) and green tomatoes.  If you give it a try let me know how yours turned out by rating this recipe in the recipe card below.  Feel free to Pin the recipe for later. Happy pickling!

How about a few more eggplant recipes for you to enjoy?

• Eggplant Caponata
• Baked Eggplant and Potatoes with Tomato Sauce
• Grilled Eggplant Involtini
• Stuffed Baby Eggplant
• Mom’s Eggplant Parmigiana