Pickled Eggplant & Green Pepper in Olive Oil - Makdous Batinjan wa Fleifleh

Makdous Batinjan - Eggplant cured in olive oil

the stuffing is garlic , walnuts and hot chili pepper

Makdous in Olive oil is specialty of Baalback and the Bekaa Rejion.

1- boil the water

2- add the eggplant and cover with a towel to avoid turning them dark

3- boil for couple of minutes only

4- make sure a bowl of ice water is ready

5- move the eggplant from hot to ice water to stop cooking

6- when cool leave in the colander cover with a tray over them and weigh with some food cans to drain all the water - leave for three days

7- stuff the center with a mix of minced garlic, toasted walnut, kosher salt and red chili

8-add them in the jar and turn the jar upside down for another three days, or until no more water is running out 

9- stand the jar up and fill it  with good quality olive oil, yes you might need more than one litre for a big jar.

10- the makdous will be ready within three weeks

11- choose small round purple eggplant for pickling.  

enjoy with your meal, or as a sandwich Amazing flavour

             

Pickled Green Pepper

preparing the green peppers similar to the eggplant.

1- boil the water then shut the heat, wash clean the heart either by opening the bottom or the top... i did the top, as i choose a long peppers.

2-leave the peppers in the boiling water for couple of minutes only, then move to colander to drain

3-the stuffing: two heads of garlic mashed, one cup or more toasted walnuts, and red chili depends on your taste, kosher salt.

4-stuff the peppers and stack in the jar then turn the jar upside down for at least 24 hours to drain all the water

the stuffing

After Stuffing the peppers with a mix of minced garlic, walnuts and red chili turn the jars upside down

to drain the liquid, it might take up to 3 days

and this is what comes out.

after the water stop running down, stand the jars up and cover with pure olive oil, close and let it

ferment for at least three - four weeks...

I used Italian Green Peppers as I have a problem digesting the round green peppers.

You can try any kind of green pepper for this recipe, even hot peppers will work

Pickles are a staple in the Lebanese Cuisine we eat them with our food, like a side dish.

the eggplant and green peppers are usually served with a vegetarian dishes or in a pita sandwich.  I hope that you will encourage to give these pickles a try , you will not regret at all.

Note:  If you like to use the vinegar method of pickling eggplant this is the recipe:

1- clean the top of the small eggplant by taking the hat off.

2- boil in water for couple of minutes with a towel over them (the towel will prevent the eggplant from turning dark)

3- quickly turn them into ice water to stop the cooking, you might need to change the water 

4-add 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the bottom of 1 1/2 ltr jar .(in Lebanon we use white wine or red wine vinegar or apple cider all home made so the acid amount is higher than what you get in the store) 

5- boil some water (i usually fill the jar with tap water then measure the amount to make sure how much i need and it takes less when its filled with pickles.  Measure the water , boil it and add from 2-3 tables spoons kosher salt and let it cool completely. 

6- Fill the jar with the cooled eggplant over the vinegar, add the cooled water to cover the eggplants, and cover the jar tightly and leave to ferment for three to four weeks.