Spanish cuisine · Salads & Mezze

Almagro-Style Pickled Eggplants

Small eggplants from La Mancha, briefly cooked and pickled in a marinade of cumin, garlic and paprika.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 1 kg small eggplants
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp hot paprika
• 250 ml white wine vinegar
• 500 ml water
• 120 ml olive oil
• 1 red pointed pepper
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt

Instructions

1. Wash the eggplants, trim the stem but leave the calyx on, and slit each one lengthwise halfway through.
2. Bring water with 150 ml of the white wine vinegar and the sea salt to a boil, add the eggplants and cook uncovered for 10–12 min until they can be pierced easily with a skewer but haven't fallen apart.
3. Drain the eggplants, plunge them into ice-cold water, and let them drain cut-side down on a rack for 20 min.
4. Toast the cumin seeds dry for 1 min and crush them with the garlic and a pinch of salt in a mortar, then stir in both paprikas, the remaining vinegar and the olive oil.
5. Cut the pointed pepper into thin strips, tuck them into the slits in the eggplants, and pack the eggplants tightly into a jar or bowl.
6. Pour the marinade over until everything is covered and let sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours; bring to room temperature before serving.