So christmas is approaching and being from a Sicilian family, we have a tradition of making a dish called melanzane sottolio which is eggplant preserved in olive oil.
It has been passed down through the women in our family for generations and last year, my wife (married 2 years now) was shown how to make it by my mother. This will be her first year making it solo
Usually it is made 3 months in advance of christmas day however due to it being a process that is time consuming and work being insane over end of financial year ( wife is an accountant) she hasnt had the time but this past weekend it was made.
Here is the process..
1. Take as a bunch of eggplant and cut into slices, liberally apply salt to each slice, layer in a collendar and weigh it down to compress the eggplant slices to very thin and draw out the moisture.. let it sit like this for 24 hours
2. Rinse off the slices.. bring some white vinegar to a very light simmer and simmer the eggplant for just a couple minutes, just enough to bring the eggplant to cooked, be very carefull.. VERY easy to overcook and turn to mush here
3. Let eggplant cool and cut up plenty of garlic, birds eye chillies, oregano.. you can add whatever spices you like but this is what we use.
4. Layer the eggplant, slices of fresh garlic, oregano & chilli in a sterilized jar with good quality olive oil.
5. Seal, the longer it sits, the more the flavors infuse.. its always been done in our family for 3 months but the jar at any of my brothers or sisters house.. or mom and dads haha, is never quite full come christmas day
It has been passed down through the women in our family for generations and last year, my wife (married 2 years now) was shown how to make it by my mother. This will be her first year making it solo
Usually it is made 3 months in advance of christmas day however due to it being a process that is time consuming and work being insane over end of financial year ( wife is an accountant) she hasnt had the time but this past weekend it was made.
Here is the process..
1. Take as a bunch of eggplant and cut into slices, liberally apply salt to each slice, layer in a collendar and weigh it down to compress the eggplant slices to very thin and draw out the moisture.. let it sit like this for 24 hours
2. Rinse off the slices.. bring some white vinegar to a very light simmer and simmer the eggplant for just a couple minutes, just enough to bring the eggplant to cooked, be very carefull.. VERY easy to overcook and turn to mush here
3. Let eggplant cool and cut up plenty of garlic, birds eye chillies, oregano.. you can add whatever spices you like but this is what we use.
4. Layer the eggplant, slices of fresh garlic, oregano & chilli in a sterilized jar with good quality olive oil.
5. Seal, the longer it sits, the more the flavors infuse.. its always been done in our family for 3 months but the jar at any of my brothers or sisters house.. or mom and dads haha, is never quite full come christmas day
