Fermented Aubergine (Eggplant)
I adore baba ghanoush. Actually I adore MY baba ghanoush. Which I always begin by smoking the tar out of a pile of eggplant. I met this vegetable on a pizza in the south of France and it was called an aubergine, so forgive me if I keep it that way. It sounds WAY more appetizing than eggplant, which is probably why I had never eaten one before. It was also the best pizza I had ever eaten until I began making my own and modeling it after the one I had enjoyed at “L’aubergine” restaurant in Provence. Apparently they liked the funny little veg-fruit too.
Well, I love grilling it with with sea salt and sprayed with a bit of extra virgin olive oil. It comes alive smoked, I’m telling you. But as most veg come alive through fermentation as well, I thought I’d give it a try.
Ingredients
- 3 Aubergine (eggplant) rinsed, quartered and cut into chunks
- 1/2 onion sliced and diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic, smashed or sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika, smokey ancho chili or red chili flakes
- 2 Tbsp kosher salt dissolved in 1 quart water (repeat in proportion if necessary)
- 68oz mason (I used to have a ton of these before I moved overseas… le sigh…) or big pickle jar
You can add other herbs, but I wanted this as close to basic as possible because as I said… I love to make baba ghanoush. Consider this the prequel to that post! I’ve recently started making a Romanian flavor profile version by leaving the coriander and mint off and adding roasted onion. SO good.
Fermented Aubergine
Equipment
- 68oz mason
- Fermenting Weight
Ingredients
- 3 Aubergine eggplant rinsed, quartered and cut into chunks
- 1/2 onion sliced and diced
- 4-6 cloves garlic smashed or sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika smokey ancho chili or red chili flakes
- 2 tbsp pink salt dissolved in 1 quart water repeat in proportion if necessary
Instructions
- Sanitize mason jar and fermenting weight in the oven at 180°F for 5 minutes.
- Wash and cube aubergine and add to jar.
- Add spices, salt and non-chlorinated water/brine, leaving 1-2" room at the top.
- Cover the top with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and place fermenting weight on top.
- Seal the jar and leave for a minimum of 7 days.