Eggplant Appetizer
The whole idea behind this eggplant appetizer is one small but decisive move: fry every vegetable separately, then braise them together. Crowding them into one pan steams instead of browns; done in turns, the eggplant has room to caramelize and shed its water, the onion turns golden and sweet, and the tomatoes give up their juice and acidity.
It’s a staple of home canning across southern Ukraine and the Caucasus, where eggplant rules late summer. The finished mixture is thick, faintly smoky, and holds beautifully on a slice of bread.
- To pull out bitterness, salt the sliced eggplant, let it sit 20 minutes, and squeeze out the juice before frying.
- Stir in the garlic only after the heat is off, so it stays fresh and doesn’t turn acrid.
- The recipe uses 80% vinegar essence, which is extremely concentrated; with ordinary 9% distilled vinegar you’ll need roughly 2-3 tablespoons for the whole batch instead of a single teaspoon.
Part of Ukrainian cuisine — 464 more recipes in the section.
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Ingredients
Instructions
Cut the eggplant and tomatoes into strips and chop the onion however you like.
Fry each vegetable separately in oil: the eggplant on its own, the onion on its own, the tomatoes on their own.
Combine all the vegetables, salt to taste, and braise over low heat for 30 minutes.
Turn off the heat, then add the minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of 80% vinegar.
Pack into jars and seal.
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