Recipe - Marinated Eggplant In Olive Oil

4 md Eggplants (about 3 One half lbs.
Total)
One half cup Salt
1 teaspoon White vinegar
1 teaspoon Extra virgin olive oil [go
For the greenest you can
Find]
3 cup Regular olive oil [all
Extra virgin would be
Prohibitive for too many]
One fourth cup Chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon Dried oregano OR
2 One half tablespoon Fresh oregano if available
One half teaspoon Salt

Contributed to the echo by: Bill Birner Originally from: La Cucina di
Andrea's New Orleans Extra Virgin Recipes 1. Slice the skins off the
eggplants, and slice them about One fourth inch thick from top to bottom. Then
slice across to get pieces the size of French fries. Put the eggplant
strips in a bowl and toss with the One half cup of salt.

2. Move the eggplant strips into a colander, arraying them in a relatively
uniform layer up the sides. Put a bowl the same size as the colander inside
the colander and weigh it down with three or so pounds of weight. [I find a
foil covered common solid brick is a handy kitchen tool.] Put the entire
apparatus in the sink to drain for 45 minutes. This will remove any
bitterness from the eggplant.

3. Rinse the salt off the eggplant with cold water. Drain it well, then
SQUEEZE it dry. Put the eggplant in a bowl with the vinegar, and marinate
it for 30 minutes. [It will return to shape like a wet sponge.]

4. Drain the vinegar from the eggplant and squeeze it dry again. Put the
eggplant into a bowl with all the other ingredients.

5. Pour the contents into a canning jar. Make SURE there is enough olive
oil to completely cover all the eggplant about One half inch deep. Tightly seal
and refrigerate the jar. Marinate for at least a week; The ideal time is
actually three months, and the eggplant will keep getting better even after
that.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini