Pickled Aubergine
Pickled Aubergine – Egyptian style
Pickled aubergine have a rich tomatoey stuffing, laced with garlic that’s packed with flavour and has a good fiery kick from the chilli. They’re brilliant as part of a mezze or as a side dish with any meal. They’re also good enough to snack on, on their own or packed into some warm flat bread with a little feta cheese if you choose.
Although these little gems are called ‘pickled’ they are in fact frequently eaten the same day.
INGREDIENTS
16 small aubergines – the size of sausages
I onion finely chopped
8 cloves of garlic peeled and finely sliced
2 tomatoes finely chopped
2 heaped tbspn tomato puree
½ a red chilli finely chopped
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ cup white vinegar
olive oil
Here’s how to make your Pickled Aubergine
Wash the aubergines and trim the stalks off.
Boil the aubergine for 15 minutes
Put the aubergines into a pan and cover them with boiled water. Add a good pinch of salt and boil for about 15 minutes – until the aubergines soften slightly – they should still be firm.
Fry up the onions
Meanwhile put a frying pan over a medium flame to warm up for half a minute, then add the onions followed by the olive oil.
Add the tomatoes and garlic
When the onions begin to brown slightly’ quickly add the garlic and stir for a few seconds before adding the chopped tomatoes.
When the tomatoes start to cook down a little and go soft add the remaining ingredients and cook for about 5 – 10 minutes more. If the mixture becomes a little too dry just add a splash of water.
Check your seasoning
Do a taste test – it should be richly tomatoey, nice and garlicky, have a kick from the chilli and it should also be obviously vinegary.
The flavours should be quite concentrated – Remember the flavour will be diluted when its put into the aubergine.
The consistency of the filling should be about the same as tomato puree.
Drain the aubergine
When the aubergines are tender take them out of the water.
Make a slit in the aubergines (top to bottom) that’s about ¾ of the depth of the aubergine.
Put them into a colander to allow them to drain completely and cool slightly.
Put a plate over them with a weight on top to encourage any water trapped in them to drain away.
Pack that filling into your Pickled Aubergine
Take the spicy, garlicky, pickled tomato mixture and pack it into the slits you have made in the aubergines.
This is how you store these flavourful little gems
If you want to treat the aubergines as a preserve, pack the aubergines stuffing side up into sterilized jars and cover them with enough olive oil to completely cover them before sealing the jars.
Allow the flavours of your Pickled Aubergine to infuse
If you can, leave the aubergines for 4 -5 days, this will allow the flavours of the filling to permeate into the aubergine.
How to serve your Pickled Aubergine
Serve at room temperature as a side dish with any meal. Alternatively drizzled with a little olive oil and pack into warm flat breads, perhaps with a little feta cheese, for a tasty snack.
Enjoy !
* The Palestinian recipe for pickled aubergines combines chopped walnuts in the stuffing which is another tasty option.