Eggplants preserved in oil are one of the most popular conserves you can prepare for family and friends to enjoy. Crispy and tasty, they are perfect as a last-minute appetizer served on toasted croutons or as an accompaniment to a platter of cold cuts and cheeses.
As with any homemade preserves, you need to be patient and take care during each stage of the process to avoid the risk of botulinum contamination. If you follow the rules however, you’ll get a magnificent conserve to enjoy even in autumn, when the ripe and tasty eggplant is but a memory.
Eggplants: young and seedless
The most suitable eggplants for preserving in oil are undoubtedly the youngest, firm, and ripe but without the seeds, which slightly alters their taste. You can choose between round or elongated eggplant, depending on your preference. The former are generally sweeter, and the latter a little spicier. If you don't know if they are young or ripe, you can always purge them for 30 minutes with coarse salt before using them.
Sterilization process
This sterilization step is not to be taken lightly. It’s pointless to risk poisoning, even dangerous ones, when all you need to do is follow the rules properly. So, before you start working the eggplants make sure you have sterilized your jars in boiling water for at least an hour and bought new caps.
Once they have been sterilized, leave them to dry on a clean cloth and then immediately fill them with eggplant. Once filled, close them with the screw caps and put them back in a large pot full of water, wrapped in rags, and let them boil for 30 minutes. Let them cool in the water and then dry them, making sure that the cap makes the classic "click clack" sound as a sign that the vacuum worked correctly.
Eggplant preserved in oil Recipe
Take 5 lb of eggplants, wash them, cut them into squares, and put them little by little in a pot with 4 cups water and 4 cups boiling vinegar.
Blanch them for 5 minutes and then drain them with a skimmer ladle over a colander. When you have blanched them all, place them in the previously sterilized jars, covering them with oil and pressing them down gently.
Add two cloves of garlic for each jar, a few thyme leaves, a small piece of fresh chili pepper, and a bay leaf.
Let it rest like this for one night and the next day, add the oil that the eggplants will absorb so that they are completely covered.
Close with the caps, put them back in a pot full of boiling water to obtain the vacuum and then place each jar in a cool place in the pantry.
If the sterilization and vacuum process has been carried out correctly the jars will keep for up to six months.
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