Melanzan Salad

I hesitated to tell you about this one for many reasons.  Mainly because there is no recipe (though I did find this one here).  The second reason is that if you check a few blogs out there they will tell you that canning without a recipe by Ball or one of the like is really taking your health into your own hands.  But then there is this flavor that I just had to share with you. So I am posting it. You can make a small quantity and have it as a side for one of your meals or serve it with pasta (delicious) or simply eat it plain with bread.


This is the first year I used Sicillian eggplant (pictured above) mainly because I have never seen it before.  I find that it is whiter and more absorbent than my usual eggplant (pictured below at the bottom) but it is also a bit flatter in taste.  It truly is perfect for Melanzana marinata.  I love that name.  When I was a kid, it was always referred to as (spelled phonically) "mole-in-john" salad. Now that I know what the word for eggplant is -melanzana- I know I was always interpreting it in my own way.  Nevertheless we still call it that.  Maybe it is a dialect- I dunno.

I am posting it mainly for a reference for myself for next year.  I want to chronicle our family's canned goods, per the instructions of my mother.  This way I always have it and my family can check the recipe if they need it as well.

Melanazan Salad aka "Molinjon"

2 Sicilian eggplants
8 regular eggplants
2 heads of garlic
3 cups oil canola
4 cups distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup kosher salt
3 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
12 basil leaves, chiffonade
4 tablespoons oregano

Cube eggplant and boil until just tender.  You want it limp but not mushy. Remove from water and drain immediately.  Run cold water on it to cool.  Squeeze until you have removed as much liquid as possible. Place in large bowl. Add the spices and most of the vinegar and oil.  What you are looking for is a soupy consistency.  The reason why is so that the eggplant, being the sponge that it is, will absorb the marinade. So keep mixing preferably with your hand because it is one of those, "you got to go by what you feel" kind of things. Place in pint sized canning jars and seal.  Process for twenty minutes in canner.

Do not be alarmed if your garlic turns green after a time.  You can read about why that happens here.

A recent market trip.