Name: Italian pickled eggplant with olive oil
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 6 ½ lb eggplants (3kg); 4 ¼ cups extravirgin olive oil (1 lt); 6 ¼ cups water (1 ½ lt); 3 cups white vinegar (750 ml); 3 garlic cloves (peeled and sliced); 3 red hot chilli peppers (diced); black pepper (whole grains); Oregano; salt

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

If you ever seen those expensive jars of italian pickled eggplant at the deli store let me tell you that they’re so easy to make at home for a lot less.

Those veggies are a served in italy mostly as an antipasto (appetizer) but in fact, they can also be a wonderful side dish for a steak, grilled chicken or fish.

What are italian pickled eggplants?

In Italy there are various ways for preserving melanzane (eggplants), for example they can be frozen, dehydrated, on vinegar, oil, etc. But one favourite way is sott’olio (in olive oil).

Melanzane sott’olio (eggplant under olive oil) is an easy recipe that italians loves to make at home, specially in the countryside where you need to find a way to preserve veggies for the incoming cold months.

Before preserving, those vegetables can be cooked in different ways; for example boiled (as in our recipe), grilled or fried. The taste of course depends how they are cooked, but they’re delicious any way.

Italian pickled egg plant is a very easy recipe that you can make at home by following simple steps. But, if it’s your first time trying this recipe, my recommendation is to go with a smaller amount of ingredients.

What type of eggplant are the best for this recipe?

You might want a type of eggplant that is meaty and with almost not seeds. Graffiti, sicilian and italian eggplants works wonderful here since they’re big enough to have lot of pulp and have a very little amount of seeds.

I don’t recommend using smaller eggplants such a chinese or japanese types since you’ll have to use a lot more than the recipe calls and also those types are more bitter than the ones I told you before.

Is ok to use eggplants a little bit old, maybe the ones that are sitting in your fridge for a week or so. Just make sure they’re not too bitter.

How to eat

On top of a bruschetta
Alongside with salami, cheese, zeppole, olives, etc.
On a sandwich
On top of pizza
With pasta
As a side dish

How long last pickled eggplant?

I have preserved my pickled veggies for about a year. Just need to be very careful when handling them and placing them in the jars to avoid cross contamination.

How to preserve

It’s very important that you sterilize the jars in a proper way.
Place the jars in a cool, dark and dry spot in your house.
Once a jar is opened you have to refrigerate it and consume in the next 4 days.

The traditional italian recipe

Peel the eggplants. You can use any Italian kind, I used this sicilian type with white stripes (graffiti).

Then cut them into long stripes 0,6cm thick (about 1/4 inch).

Fill a large boiling pot with water. Add 3 tablespoons of coarse salt and the vinegar. Bring to a boil.

Working in small batches, add eggplant and let them simmer for about two minutes.

Place them in a colander to drain them and let them cool down.

Squeeze them a little using the back of a spoon, don’t do this when they’re still hot or you will mash them.

Working in layers add eggplants to a jar, then some pepper grains, hot chilli peppers, oregano and garlic.

Pour the extravirgin olive oil into the jar filling it completely, press the vegetables to allow oil reach . Repeat the process until all jars are filled.

Let the jars rest for about 20 minutes, then use a skewer to break the air bubbles that have formed. This is an important step as there shouldn’t be any air gaps that could possible spoil the pickled vegetables.

italian pickled eggplant. Working with one jar at time.

Close the jars tightly and place them in a dark, cool spot for at least a week before consuming.