Pickled eggplants from Puglia

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 kg eggplant(s)
• 2 large bell peppers, red
• 5 Pepper, hot
• 5 cloves garlic
• 20 mint leaves
• 2 handfuls of celery leaves or flat-leaf parsley
• 200 ml white wine vinegar
• Salt
• olive oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest period approx. 1 day; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour

for about 6 small glasses, from the small town of Bernalda by Michele and Jasna

First, wash all ingredients thoroughly. Deseed the peppers, quarter them, and then slice them into very thin strips. Remove the stems from the chili peppers, then halve and slice them into very thin strips, keeping the seeds. Peel the garlic and slice them very thinly. Roughly chop the celery or parsley leaves. Leave the mint leaves whole. Peel the eggplants, slice them very thinly, and then slice them very thinly. Leave 6 slices of eggplant whole. You’ll need these for the final layer. Now, prepare a small stone pot or a larger glass container. The first layer in the stone pot should be 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. As a second layer, spread a handful of eggplants on top. The third layer consists of 1 tablespoon each of bell peppers, chili peppers, garlic, celery, and 3-4 mint leaves. The fourth layer should again be 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt, and spread on top. The fifth layer is again eggplants. Now press this layer down firmly. Continue in this way until all the ingredients have been used. The last layer should consist of eggplant, then salt and vinegar, and finally the eggplant slices. Press the layers down again as you go. Press everything down with a plate and a stone and let it sit for 24 hours. The next day, thoroughly clean and rinse 6 small jam jars. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of each jar. Take a handful of the eggplant mixture from the stone pot and squeeze out the liquid firmly. Layer each layer in the small jar and press down. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and continue until the jar is full. Place an eggplant slice on top of each one and fill with olive oil. Close the jars tightly.