Refined Italian appetizer, dried eggplant, has an interesting taste and aroma, can be used as an independent appetizer or spread on bread, be an ingredient in salads or main dishes. In the shops, such a delicacy costs a lot, but you can cook it at home. We bring to your attention the best recipes.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
In order to cook delicious dried vegetables. Care must be taken to select quality ingredients.
Vegetables should be:
- Fresh
- ripe;
- glossy;
- have a dense, elastic structure;
- have a uniform purple color, no spots.
For drying, it is better to opt for later varieties. The fruits should be small, all about the same size.
Important! There should be no damage or rot on the eggplant.
How to cook dried eggplant for the winter at home
You can cook them in an ordinary home kitchen, using a kitchen oven or a dryer for vegetables. The resulting product is very useful because it helps to improve heart function and reduces the level of bad cholesterol in the blood. You can use eggplants prepared in this way as a snack or as a complement to a side dish of potatoes, rice or Italian pasta, as well as an excellent addition and an interesting component of any salad.
In the oven
4 hours
vegetable oil
120 ml
fresh rosemary
2-3 branches
Nutrition value per 100 g
- The preparation of vegetables consists in washing them, wiping them with a clean dry towel, and removing the stalks.
- Cut the fruit into slices of the same size, about 1 cm thick. A thicker cut will require longer drying of the eggplant, if the circles are thinner, the vegetable may overdry and lose its taste.
- Turn on the oven and warm to a temperature of 100 ° C.
- Sprinkle the chopped vegetables in a bowl with salt and leave for 1 hour in order to get rid of the extra bitterness of these vegetables.
- Rinse vegetables under cold water.
- Remove excess moisture with a towel or paper towel.
- Lubricate the pan with olive oil and spread the vegetable slices on it.
- Season eggplant with spices: ground black pepper, salt, dried oregano and thyme. Sprinkle them with olive oil.
- Send the pan to the preheated oven for 3 hours, while leaving a small opening for ventilation. To do this, you can open the oven door to the width of a matchbox.
- After the specified time, it is necessary to control the state of the eggplant: they should become soft and flexible.
- When the necessary condition is achieved, the baking tray with vegetables is removed from the oven and the slices allowed to cool.
- At that time, while the vegetable harvest is cooling, it is necessary to sterilize the glassware in which the eggplants will be folded. A jar and a metal, better twisted, lid for preservation are washed out and amenable to heat treatment. Dried.
- Peel the garlic cloves, cut into thin slices. Rosemary branches to disassemble the needles.
- Pour a little oil into the bottom of the can and add a few rosemary needles and a couple of slices of garlic.
- Spread a layer of dried eggplant, and then cover it with a little olive oil and spices. Repeat layering until the container is full.
- As a result, the eggplant should be immersed in spiced oil, after which the jar is closed with a lid and sent to the refrigerator. There they should stand for another week and will be ready for use.
Important! Eggplants have an unpleasant bitter taste, which must be removed before cooking vegetables. To do this, pour the chopped fruits with salt and allow them to stand for at least 15 minutes, after which the dark liquid is drained and the vegetables are washed.
In the dryer for vegetables
4,5-5 hours
vegetable oil
120 ml
basil (dried)
½ tsp
rosemary (dried)
½ tsp
red pepper (bitter)
¼ tsp
Nutrition value per 100 g
- Wash and peel the eggplant. Wash and sterilize 1 can of 200 ml and a metal screw cap.
- Cut the vegetables into thin slices half a centimeter thick.
- Place the slices in a bowl, salt the chopped vegetables and leave them for half an hour, so that they let out the juice and give off excess bitterness;
- Drain the liquid from the bowl.
- Blanch the vegetables, pouring them with boiling water for several minutes or lowering them at the same time in boiling water in a pan. This is necessary in order to make sure that the dried vegetables are not raw.
- Pull out the eggplant slices and place them on the pallet of the vegetable dryer. The temperature level must be set at 50 ° C, and the timer set at 3 o'clock.
- To prepare spicy fillings for eggplant, you need to mix vegetable oil, basil, rosemary, paprika, add a little red hot pepper and one large or two small cloves of garlic, passed through a garlic squeezer.
- Check the preparedness of the eggplant: they should be dry outside, but maintain elasticity.
- Place the dried vegetables in a clean jar and pour in a spicy dressing, close tightly with a lid and send to the refrigerator. There they should stand for several hours before use.
Did you know? The volume of eggplant is significantly reduced as a result of heat treatment, so you should accurately calculate the initial amount of vegetables needed to prepare a snack.
In oil
5-6 hours
Nutrition value per 100 g
- Wash and dry the main ingredient with a paper towel. Prepare the dishes in which the appetizer will be stored: wash and sterilize. It is better to prepare a metal screw cap, which is convenient to use and will allow you to better save the product.
- Cut the eggplant into circles of the same thickness and place on the tray of the dryer for vegetables. The appliance should be set to a temperature of 60–70 ° C and dried until the vegetables become dry in appearance, but do not lose their elasticity and softness inside. This process can take from 4-6 hours, depending on the thickness of the cut.
- Pour olive oil into a frying pan and heat well, not bringing to a boil. Squeeze the garlic into it.
- Put dried vegetable circles in a prepared jar in layers, pouring each of them with salt and spicy spices.
- Pour the contents of the jar with hot oil with garlic.
- Close the jar and wrap it with a warm blanket or blanket to ensure gradual cooling of the oil and uniform heating of all components, which as a result can get a more saturated taste and aroma.
Did you know? The taste of eggplant is unique, to some people it is similar to the taste of mushrooms, to others it resembles meat. This feature of vegetables adds to their popularity and is widely used in the preparation of vegetarian menus.
In Italian
1,5 hour
Nutrition value per 100 g
- Wash and dry the vegetables.
- Cut into thick circles.
- Salt the vegetables by immersing them in a bowl and leave for 30-50 minutes to let the juice flow.
- Drain the resulting bitter liquid and dry the circles, dabbing excess moisture with a paper towel.
- Pour vinegar into a pot and bring it to a boil.
- Put eggplant in boiling liquid and boil for 2-3 minutes.
- Discard chopped vegetables in a colander and let them drain.
- Wash and chop parsley, garlic and chili.
- Put the dried pieces in a glass container, sprinkle each layer with prepared spices and pour the entire contents with oil.
- Close the lid and let it brew for a month.
Features of storage of dried eggplant
Sun-dried vegetables in oil are stored in a glass container in the refrigerator. If the appetizer succumbed to heat treatment and was preserved, then you can send it for storage in a cool, dry place.
This snack can be the highlight of any holiday table, or be present on the table daily. Sun-dried eggplant can be served on a bruschetta in the morning for breakfast, or as an interesting dressing for pasta, and thanks to a juicy flavor bouquet, they will certainly become a favorite snack.
