Marinated Eggplants in Olive Oil – A Sicilian Recipe from My Sicilian Mum

Traditional Sicilian marinated eggplants (melanzane sott’olio) just like my Sicilian mum used to make. This recipe is all about simple ingredients, olive oil, and a little patience. In Sicily, my mum preserved everything — tomatoes, artichokes, olives — and eggplants were always one of her favourites. In this video, I’ll show you step by step how she prepared them, so you can bring this beautiful Sicilian tradition into your own kitchen. These marinated eggplants have a firm texture, a gentle vinegar fragrance, and layers of flavour from parsley, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon, and olives. Perfect as a side dish, on bruschetta, or simply enjoyed straight from the jar.

This eggplant recipe is an easy recipe to follow, resulting in a delicious and authentic italian food dish, all while practicing food preservation techniques. It’s a great way to enjoy homemade sicilian recipe!

INGREDIENTS
Eggplants (aubergines)
Salt
White vinegar (distilled, or wine vinegar if preferred)
Fresh parsley
Lemon zest
Mild chilli (or chilli flakes)
Sun-dried tomatoes
Capers
Olives (black and green, or your choice)
Rosemary sprigs
Oregano
Olive oil

METHOD
Slice the eggplants and salt them under weight to release water. After several hours, blanch in a 3:1 water to vinegar solution for one minute.
Drain, dry, and prepare the flavourings.

Layer the eggplants in jars with parsley, lemon zest, chillies, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, olives, and rosemary. Cover completely with olive oil and finish with oregano on top.

Store in a cool, dark place. Refrigerate after opening and always keep eggplants fully covered in oil.

FOOD SAFETY NOTE
Always keep eggplants completely covered in olive oil, store jars in a cool, dark place, and refrigerate after opening. For longer storage, check your local guidelines on home preserving and food safety.

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TIMECODES
00:00 Introduction – preserving food in Sicily
00:37 Eggplants, melanzane, aubergines, and eggplants – names explained
03:21 Salting and pressing the eggplants
05:36 Blanching in vinegar solution
09:09 Drying the slices and preparing flavourings
14:10 Layering the jars with herbs and vegetables
16:37 Covering with olive oil and sealing
18:55 Reflection on my mum and Sicilian traditions
20:59 Tasting the marinated eggplants

#MarinatedEggplants #SicilianRecipes #tortellinotime #ItalianFood #FamilyRecipe #Preserving #tortellino

I’ve made a few videos on the channel where I have preserved food at Christmas time. I made some caponata. Here it is. Look. And uh I am preserving it in this glass jar. Also um couple of months ago, maybe a month ago, I made some um tomato um which I then chopped in sauce and I am preserving it in this glass jar also. And um I will be making in future actually some tomato patata following some feedback from the video. I’ve got myself the little food meal and I will be doing that in another video. However, today I am making some uh preserves of uh eggplants, marinated eggplants, and uh I’ve got three here and uh I’m going to show you the principle so that uh you might want to replicate it especially in the summer months where there seems to be an abundance of uh eggplants or melanchans or indeed or as they’re called in the UK. I’ll tell you a little bit about the origin of the word actually. Take this one here. This is a melanchana in Italian and the word comes from mela which is apple and insana which means uh um kind of bitter. If you think about cooking apple, it’s a bit bitter and that is where the word comes from. And in English, they use oberines and that is actually a French word which has been adopted by the English UK English from the French in culinary sort of terms. Whereas in the states, which is the one I like most is called eggplant. And that is because the earlier versions of the plants they used to be white the um the eggplants and they used to be smaller and they resembled the shape of an egg and that is actually stuck in the the tradition of what they call it in the states. So I’m actually now removing the little head from each one of my eggplants mansana or oagene and I’m chopping them slicing them in about 1 cm pieces just like this. I’m using a bread knife as always is considerably easier. This is something which they do quite a lot in southern Italy, but where I come from in Sicily is still actually something that many families do make because it’s very simple, very easy, and also they’ve got an abundance of eggplants over there. So, they do actually do make them quite often. So, I’m going to show you the process today, but it does require a little planning. So, it is easy, but you do need to take your time. So, I just put a layer of my eggplants at the bottom of a I’m using today a an oven container here, but you can use anything you like. Mostly because it’s transparent. And then you can see what I’ll do. So, I’ll start by applying a little salt on the first layer. And do not worry, it looks like I’m putting quite a lot of salt. That is fine. The purpose here is to ensure that they release all or a lot of the water. And I’ll do again with another layer. As you can see, putting them in. And there he goes. And I’ll put some more salt. And again, do not worry about the quantity because this will be washed off later. So, stage number one is nearly complete. I’ve got a little plate here. You can use anything that you have in your kitchen. So, I’ll put that on top of my eggplants. And here are some weights. And uh whatever you’ve got available really. I’ve got some weights which we use in our little gym in the garage. So, do we we used to, the children do. And I’ll just pile it up on top. You can use a stone. You can use a pot full of water. As long as you’ve got obviously the ability. And the more you put, the better because what you want is pressure. And that pressure is what will help the water coming out from the eggplants. So, just as much as you can, as long as obviously you don’t break your plate. And there it is. So, there’s quite a lot there. I’ve got oh about about 10 to 12 kilos of weight and I leave them for a few hours and the water will be released by my eggplants and in a few hours time I’ll tell you how long it’ll take once I’m back you will see that there’ll be a little pool of water underneath and I’ll show you what I do next. See you later. 5 hours later and I am back and I’m going to show you now the miracle of the eggplants. So let’s remove all of the weights first. They are 12 kilos by the way. I’ve counted them so you got an idea. But obviously whatever you have. So let’s remove the plate next. You can see immediately how much water has been released by the eggplants with the salt. Look, I’ll show you here. That is quite remarkable. So the first thing to do is to separate them from the water. So I’ll just transfer them into a little bowl like this. Also want to show you how much they shrunk in terms of uh the thickness. If you remember, this was 1 cm and now it’s about half a centimeter. The longer you leave them under pressure with the weight, the more they will shrink. But in my case, bearing in mind that my eggplant was only or my eggplants were only very small, they’re fine because they are fairly tender. But obviously, if you’re using a larger eggplants, which may be a little bit tougher, you might want to leave them for longer. Some people actually leave them overnight. Entirely up to you, but do ensure that you end up with something which is considerably thinner than the water was when you started. At the very least half. The next step is to blanch them. And this is very important. Actually will serve three purposes. I’ll go down here so that I can measure. I’m going to be using um some vinegar. This is distilled vinegar. And I’m pouring at the moment 250 ml in a in a jug. And uh the ratio is uh three parts water and one part vinegar. So depending on how many uh eggplants you’re doing, you might want to do more or less, but I only got three little ones. So I’ll top up this with my kettle now until I reach one liter. So I get my 3:1 ratio. And as I mentioned, it is important as it services three purposes. Number one, this will be what will help removing all of the salt. Number two, um it will lock the color and the texture of the eggplants. And number three, it will act also as a preservative because the vinegar will help for the eggplants to last a long time. So I’ll put this on the boil in on the hob and then we will blunch them. And I’ll tell you how long for synchronize. Synchronize. By the way, I meant to say you can use any type of vinegar. I used distilled vinegar because it’s the cheapest you can find. But if you want to use white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar, by all means, not necessary. You’ll pay more money and that that is absolutely unnecessary. Also, whilst this is about to reach the boil, let me explain something about the eggplants themselves. You’ll have noticed that uh I did not remove the peel is still attached in there. And uh that is because I like the texture and also they will look absolutely fantastic when they are inside the glass. But lots of people remove the peel. I think it’s just they don’t like the texture. I would say that it’s not necessary and uh also it’s very good for you. So back to my uh water and vinegar. if you look is uh about to boil and do wait until uh it’s actually quite vigorous because this will not need to cook or to blunch for very long. So I’ll just add them in gently so that I don’t burn myself more than anything else. And doing sure that your pot is not too big because otherwise you’ll end up having to use a lot more vinegar and water than what you need. So you can see what I’ve done. I used a relatively small pot so that everything fits in perfectly like this. And I will leave now these to blunch for no more than 1 minute. Honestly, you don’t want to cook them. You want to stop the clock. You want to blunch them and then I will drain them. So, see you in about a minute. There we go. Minute is up. They’ve been boiling for a minute. So, I’ll just go and drain them. Julie follows me. And I’m using a pasta drainer here just as normal. And I’ll uh actually do this way so you can see. And personally, I think it’s a great idea to just uh add some cold water on top so that uh the cold water considerably quickly locks them and they do not cook any further because obviously I am lowering the temperature. And now they need to drain. And uh you will be surprised how much more water will come out. Actually, I’ll put them inside this little bowl and I leave them in there for about 5 minutes. And in that 5 minutes, they will continue cooling down, but also I will drain as much water as possible. Also, during the 5 minutes, to ensure that I get most of the water out, I put my plate back on. And I’ll just squeeze. And look, can you see how much water is coming out? It’s quite remarkable, actually. Remember, whenever you are preserving any sort of food, you don’t really want much water. The less water, the better, but also the less likely is the event of any bacteria developing. So, look how much water there is here still coming out. And I think I’ve done as much as I can. So, I can remove this out of the way now. And I’ll show you what to do next to ensure that you get them as dry as you can. So, here is a clean towel. I’ll put on the floor here. And I’m now arranging my blanched eggplant on top just like this. And making sure that they do not overlap so that they dry even further. And if you smell them, you will be able to identify that there is also a pleasant aroma coming from the vinegar. And is important that of course you keep to that ratio. Otherwise, you will have them too strong if uh you put more vinegar than what um the 3:1 ratio or too weak. um if you don’t put enough. So, they’re there. And uh here is another little towel, another clean towel. So, I’ll put this on top. And I’ll start tapping it with my hands. And I will be absorbing now any excess moisture from the top using this towel. And of course, from the bottom using the other one. And I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll place my big wooden board on top and I’ll carry on making the uh condiment that will go inside the jar with the eggplant. And today we’ll be using a varieties of additional ingredients to go with my eggplants varying from vegetables but also spices. This is a a mild chili pepper. Actually, ironically is coming from our vegetable patch. actually gave it to me the other day and this is great as I get the opportunity to use it now. So you can use mild, you can use very hot, very spicy, you can use it red, orange, whatever you like or if you don’t have access to fresh um chilies, you can use also chili flakes. But regardless of what you do, ensure that you chop it in little pieces just like I’m doing now. When my mom used to make these, she always used to add lemon zest. So I’m doing the same. This is actually half a lemon which I used yesterday and I kept knowing that I was going to make this today rather than throwing it away. So good use of resources in the kitchen. So I’m just take a potato peeler and I’m slicing a few um pieces from the top like this. Not a lot, just enough to give the lovely zesty flavor. And I’ll top it up with the other half as I don’t have enough. So that’ll be a little bit more. Entirely up to you. Amachi put in of course or as I say we don’t have to put it in at all. These are some dry tomatoes which I purchased in Sicily but you can buy them anywhere in the world. Good handful of basil. This is absolutely imperative for a good marinated eggplant especially if you want them Sicilian style. This is oregano. I will open it ready for later. And my last couple of ingredients on the herbs front is going to be some rosemary. I got three little sprigs over here and some capers. These are under water which is salted. So I’m just going to get a few teaspoons and rinse them under water so that I remove the salt. And here they go. Not a lot, not a lot of anything really. Just flavor flavor and flavor. And my very last ingredient is going to be olives. My magic olives which I keep in olive oil. So, I’m going to spoon out a couple, two or three uh spoons of olives. I don’t want any moss and dry tomatoes, just olives. And I got here a combination of black and green olives. So, entirely up to you if you want them just green or just black. You can do whatever you like or no olives. Obviously, all of this is uh very optional. You can choose whatever you like. So, let’s remove this and let’s start to see what our eggplants look like. And by now, they should be ready for me to work on. Perfect. And today, I’m going to be using uh one of those jars. It’s a bit like my olive jars. I I like to keep them um on view, but you can also use a normal um normal jar like a marmalade or if you look here, the capers jar would also be very good. And the size of the jar depends obviously on how many you’re making, but you can also use more than one jar. Of course, one thing though, if you’re using this sort of jar, the ones you might have in a marmalade or capers, do ensure that you check the seal to ensure that uh it’s in good quality because obviously you will be preserving this and you want to make sure that no egg gets in. Let’s make a start. So, first layer of uh eggplants goes in. And I always make sure that the very very first layer I’m a little bit generous to ensure that I’ve got a good base. So, as you can see, I’m actually putting quite a lot in to start with. There is no particular order on how you do this. But, uh if you just remember your sequence, then you make sure that you do not go wrong. I start with the basel and I’ll go anticlockwise. So, a couple of Sandra tomatoes go in next, followed by a few of my chilies and few capers go in. Couple of pieces of lemon zest. And I’ll go here the olives. So, I’ll just throw a few in. And you can choose also to chop the olives if you like or leave them whole. Mine are very small, so I’m leaving them whole. And before I go any further and put any more of my eggplants, as I’ve got a little base and something to get my rosemary sprigs in place, I’ve actually put them in. And then this will obviously release flavor and you will have seen that I already cut them to size beforehand, but also they will look absolutely beautiful inside the glass jar, especially if you leave your glass jar in display on display and start again. So off I go now with my eggplants once again. And if you want to be really strategic, make sure that various other ingredients that you are adding the next to the glass so that you can see them from outside, including anything to do with pepper and anything to do with the capers and all of the other ingredients. Of course, I think it’s all about colors and flavors. And this is a beautiful display, of course. And I’m very near the end now. Uh you will have seen that so far I’ve not added any oregano. That is on purpose. Lot of people add oregano in the various layers as they build it up. I don’t because um I don’t like to see oregano in the layers because I think it looks eventually after a few days not very nice. So what I do to ensure that I do get the flavor, I put it on top and then I will be finding my bottle of oil once I wash my hands and the oregano will be there to give the flavor but it will not just go everywhere. I’ll be back in a moment. Okay, I’ve got a brand new bottle of olive oil for the job. So let’s remove the cap and I’ll start filling this very gently from the side. Just like this. And at some point I’ll stop because uh I need to give time for the oil to just uh filter it way down until I’m ready to add some more. And off I go again. And this is the point where you need to be taking your time. Do it very slowly and you will find that you won’t get many air pockets and actually will be faster. So to go faster, you need to go slower. spoon and start pushing it down to ensure that all of the oil goes down. And you can see that if I just lift it and hopefully you’ll be able to see on this camera over here, you can see that the oil is finding its way down quite beautifully. So just continue alternating until you are satisfied that it’s absolutely chopped with olive oil. And if you have never done anything like this before, I’ll just lift the jar to show you. And you see if I press with a spoon, you can see where the level of the oil is up here. So I want to make sure that everything is absolutely covered. Otherwise, the stuff on the top will be spoiled and potentially could even go moldy. So to ensure that everything is absolutely covered in olive oil and that will be the same as you start eating them, by the way, because as you pull them out, you will be taking some olive oil with you. And if by the time you put them away, you’ll see that the oil level has gone below the top of your eggplants or whatever. Top it up so that uh everything is covered in oil. But I think I’m there now. So if I close it and I’ll show you. Oops, put too much. Never mind. And I show you what we’ve got. It looks absolutely stunning. So I’ll just turn it upside down to ensure that everything is working perfectly. And um this will be ready to be consumed within the next couple of hours. So I will test it in about an hour so that I can tell you what it’s like. But clearly leave it for 24 to 36 hours and will be even better. So I’ll see you in about an hour when I can see what it’s like. I need to go and wash my hands next. See you then. And I’ve washed my hands several times, but that’s because more than an hour has passed. Actually, I spoke to my mom, the oracle of food preservation in an Sicily and uh she suggested actually to get it, you can eat it straight away, of course, because everything is ready, but to get a better flavor in terms of the true indication if you’ve been successful, you better wait at least 12 hours. So, I listened to my mom and I decided to wait for overnight in any case. So, I have actually waited about 15 hours. I’ve got a little bread here and I’m going to do a real proper test. The irony is that my mom started with lots of recommendations and she said, “Oh, ensure that you keep them under oil all the time and you cover them up otherwise they will develop mold and so on.” She went into mother mode. And the irony is that my mom suffers from dementia. She’s 84, but she will have forgotten this conversation that I had with her. But she remembered everything about the preservation of this type of food and she knew the details. And I found that quite uh incredible that I can have a conversation with her and two minutes later she will have forgotten and then she will remember and it’s weird. It’s a horrible condition but affects so many people. Um the other thing is that uh also it makes me think whenever I speak to my mom how precious life is and uh we all get carried away sometimes with the dayto-day sadness of things and forgetting actually that life is really short and we need to enjoy it every day every moment. You never know what is around the corner. So if you love traveling, if you love cooking, if you love knitting, whatever it is, just go out there and do it. And if you want to channel your passion, open a YouTube channel channel. Open a channel and share with the world what you want to do. Don’t fear judgment. Life is too short. But let’s try this beautiful balencana and see what it’s like. That’s going to take a while for you to chew through that now. Sorry. You’re right. Always. You know what? It’s beautiful, but it needs a little salt and a little pepper because I washed it all off. And it’s actually something that you can eat as a side. And I got here some fresh tomatoes. They can go in with very well, whatever you like. I do not know what this is like after 6 months, but I understand that as long as you keep it preserved, it can last up to a year. The reason why I don’t know is because in our house, this doesn’t last more than two to three months, the very very top. But if you do ensure that uh if you make more than one, you store it in a cool um cold cold cupboard, dark cupboard, they will last up to a year, I understand. And uh they’re delicious. My mom used to make all sorts. She used to be the queen of food preservation. She used to do with artich chokes, with olives, of course, tomatoes, as I’ve shown in another video. So try experiment but do ensure that you are safe, you keep food safety standards in mind depending on where you live of course also. And uh in this case always top it up with olive oil. That is really really critical for preservation but also for taste. And don’t panic if you’re thinking to yourself, oh gosh, this is a lot of olive oil because we then reuse that and pop that on our salads and it’s even more flavorsome than what it would normally be. Yeah. And the reason why she did say wait 12 hours or so is not because it wouldn’t have been ready. It’s because of the flavors and then the the flavor from the olive, the capers and then the other spices I’ve put in. Obviously, they will combine with everything else. And the longer you leave it, the better. So, try and let me know what you think. And uh obviously if you make it in such a beautiful little jar, you can leave it on your worktop. Thank you for watching and good luck if you make it. And if you do, let me know. As always,