Vegetarian mains
Stuffed Eggplant Pickles
In Lebanon, preserving food has its own rituals and seasons... Stuffed eggplant is one of the most popular types of pickles prepared in summer to enjoy later. Did you think making makdous was difficult? Not anymore, and not with today's recipes from What Are You Cooking Today, prepared by home cooks just like you!
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Recipe story
We start by preparing the right eggplants for makdous: medium-sized, round, and with few seeds.
Wash the eggplants well and place a weight or heavy object on top of them to drain out all the washing water...
Boil the eggplants until tender, and when you remove them from the heat, place them immediately under cold water so the eggplants do not later turn dark black in color...
Cut a slit in each eggplant and salt them well. Arrange them in a colander and press them again with a heavy object until the next day so they dry well and all the liquid is removed.
The next day, place a little filling inside each eggplant.
The filling consists of: walnuts, dried red peppers (which we have also dried under the sun), garlic, and salt.
Arrange the eggplants in jars suitable for pickles and cover them with olive oil...
Recipe and photo from a friend of the What Are You Cooking Today website:
Rawia Sobh Edlby
Ingredients
- Small round eggplants, about 1 kg (choose medium-sized, low-seed fruits)
- Coarse salt, 3–4 tablespoons
- Crushed walnuts, 250 g
- Dried red peppers (roasted or sun-dried), 6–8 peppers
- Crushed garlic, 4–6 cloves (or to taste)
- Extra-virgin olive oil, about 250–500 ml to submerge the makdous
- Water for boiling
- 1 tablespoon vinegar (optional to improve preservation)
Method
- Wash the eggplants well, then place a light weight on them for a few hours to draw out excess surface moisture.
- Boil the eggplants in plenty of boiling water until they cook through and soften (depending on size 5–10 minutes).
- When you remove the eggplants from the hot water, plunge them immediately into cold water to stop the cooking and preserve the color.
- Cut each eggplant from the tip to the middle, leaving the base uncut to form a pocket for stuffing, then rub salt into the pocket and over the outside.
- Arrange the salted eggplants in a colander, place a weight on top, and leave in a cool place or the refrigerator until the next day so most liquid is released and bitterness is reduced.
- Prepare the filling by grinding the walnuts with the dried peppers, garlic, and salt until you have a coarse, cohesive mixture (adjust garlic and pepper amounts to taste).
- The next day rinse the eggplants briefly if they seem too salty and dry them with kitchen paper, then fill each pocket with an appropriate amount of the walnut mixture.
- Pack the stuffed makdous tightly into sterilized jars so they sit close together to minimize air gaps.
- Cover the makdous with olive oil until the eggplants are completely submerged, add 1 tablespoon vinegar if you like, and seal the jars tightly.
- Leave the makdous in a cool, dark place for at least one week before serving to develop flavor, and always ensure the pieces remain submerged in oil during storage.
