Melanzane

Melanzane Sott'olio: In English this means Eggplant in Olive Oil.  But what is melanzane exactly?  Yes, it's eggplant but it's so much more.  It's a rich concoction of thinly sliced eggplant, spicy Anaheim peppers and loads of garlic and spices all happily bathing in a cider vinegarette.

Every family has traditions that are unique.  For the Mondos, the annual process of preserving eggplant has been passed down for generations.  Growing up in an Italian family, food was always the focus of our get togethers.  I can still remember making Melanzane with my grandpa and dad when I was a little girl.  When I got older and my grandpa wasn't able to help out, my dad and I took over making it together.  Making melanzane is a lengthy and social process with different steps that take time and is a perfect way to hang out with family and enjoy each others company while keeping the family tradition going!


We're sharing this process because it's become a tradition of our own; it's one of the first things we made together and it's something we have repeated every year since.  The first time Julie tried the melanzane was the first night we cooked together and she was adamant about learning how to make it as soon as she tasted it.  I taught her how to make it that fall, she shared it with friends (who also loved it) and the last two years we've taught our friends how to make it.  This fall 4 of us got together and made it (almost 8 gallons worth!). It's been a great tradition that we hope to pass on to more and more of our friends in the years to come.  We hope you enjoy hearing about the process and maybe.... you'll be able to give it a shot on your own!

The Ingredients:
Eggplant
Olive Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Garlic
Hot Peppers (Anaheim and hungarian)
Oregano
Salt

The tools:
Crock (size depends on amount made)
Wine Press
Food Processor

The process:
Part 1: Buy the eggplant and prepare it.  On this day we peeled all the eggplant and sliced it in 1/4 inch rounds.  The eggplant was then layered in the crock with salt to draw out all the water.  It's important to gently squish the eggplant between every few layers to help release the water.  After all the eggplant has been sliced, salted and squished, the water level should be above the eggplant.  To make sure the eggplant stayed submerged, we covered it with a plate and to keep it under the water.  Our first step was complete and the eggplant was left to rest for a week!





Part 2: After letting the eggplant sit for a week under its own water it was ready for the second half (and the FUN half) of the process!  We emptied all the eggplant into one half of the sink and repeatedly washed it until the water was clear.  It usually takes about 5 times of rinsing it under cold water before it's clean.




 The eggplant was still pretty thick and full of water so we layered it into a wine press and squished it down so it became thin.  All of the water that was still being stored came gushing out!  We kept squishing it till very little water trickled out and the eggplant was packed down to about a 1/4 of the size it started at!

Now comes the fun and messy part!  When we finished with the eggplant we pulled it all apart and got the rest of our ingredients ready to build our final product.  To make 8 gallons of Melanzane we used about 40 eggplant, about 3/4 bushel of peppers, 6 pounds of sliced garlic, 3 103oz jugs of olive oil, 3 quarts of apple cider vinegar along with an abundance of oregano and some salt.  Building and layering the crock is easy but what makes this so delicious is the right proportion of olive oil to apple cider vinegar.  Over the years we've found that a 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar makes for the most amazing final product!  The best way to add the liquid is to pre-mix the oil and vinegar in a pitcher and just pour it in as you build.

All the ingredients ready to go!

Layering with peppers and seasonings!

Building the crock of Melanzane is really just a process in which all the ingredients are layered over and over again until the crock is full.  We started with a base of seasonings... some oregano and salt followed by a layer of eggplant, peppers, garlic, oregano, salt and topped off with some of the oil and vinegar mixture.  The aromas in the air were mouthwatering as we mixed all the seasonings together! 

The finished product!

All the hard work was done after we used up every last pepper and piece of eggplant, the kitchen was a mess, our hands were full of seasonings and we all wore big smiles on our faces.  We finished off the crocks by putting a plate over the top of eggplant and weighing it down with a jug of water.  It's good to keep all the of eggplant and peppers under the oil.  We covered the crocks with a towel and a dark garbage bag to prevent light from getting in and tucked them away to marinate!  After a couple weeks of the flavors blending the Melanzane was ready to try!

Melanzane over brie served with flatbread

Typically melanzane has been eaten on top of a fresh piece of bread but in the last year we've tried it many different ways.  We've found it to be a perfect match for soft brie, a great topping on a turkey sandwich, and amazing rolled up in a homemade loaf of bread.