Fermented Eggplant
Learn how to Lacto-Ferment Eggplant in this Italian style recipe for a delicious and versatile way to use up all that eggplant summer abundance.
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Equipment
- Large knife
- Large Bowl
- Colander
- Mason Jar
- Glass Fermentation Weight
- Pickle Pipe (fermentation lid)
Ingredients
- 3-4 medium Organic Eggplant (any variety) avoid super large as they contain more seeds
- 1 handful fresh basil chopped
- 1 handful fresh parsley chopped
- 3-4 tbsp sea salt for salting eggplant
- 1 tbsp black peppercorn optional
- 3 Red Hot Chili Peppers optional
- Olive oil optional (for preserving in after fermentation)
Instructions
- Slice your eggplant longways, then cut your eggplant slices into little thin strips resembling French fries
- Add your eggplant slices to the large bowl and sprinkle salt over each layer
- Let them sit covered in the bowl for 8-24 hours to sweat out the bitter liquid. Then squeeze out the excess liquid.
- In a wide mouth mason jar, add your basil, garlic, red pepper, peppercorns, parsley, and squeezed eggplant. Fill jar with filtered water and place your fermentation weight on top adding a little pressure on the ingredients to release any trapped air bubbles. Ensure that the ingredients are full submerged in the water.
- Add your fermentation lid on top, and let sit on the counter top for about 7-10 days to ferment, checking regularly.
- After they are sufficiently fermented, you may move them to cold storage, or squeeze them out again and place them in a clean mason jar and top with olive oil. These will store for 6 months in the fridge.
Notes
You do not need to add a salt brine to the eggplant, because they will have a sufficient amount of salt from the salting/sweating process. You can just use plain filtered water on top.
Your olive oil may get solid in the refrigerator, you can sub for a different oil if preferred, just avoid any seed oils.
You want to choose the best freshest looking eggplants for fermenting. Try choosing a good middle size, as the large ones tend to contain more seeds=more bitterness.