Marinated Eggplant (Aubergine)

My Gram always seemed to have an unending supply of this as everyone loved it.Here are some changes.She didn't mince the garlic,just used small cloves or cut them in half .She cut the eggplant into almost slivered strips and also added a very small amount of slivered pieces of onions.I think my Dad's favorite sandwich in the world was Sopressato and marinated eggplant on good Italian bread.Now I've made myself hungry.

Hi John, Here is what I found on the net regarding your case of the "blues:" Users of bottled garlic in vinegar are occasionally alarmed to find that the product has turned green or blue-green. These colour changes do not make the product unsafe but are obviously undesirable. The problem of garlic changing colour is associated with the addition of acid which changes the normal pH of the product. This is precisely what is required to ensure that the garlic remains safe but the change in acidity brings about chemical changes in pigments in the garlic. All plant materials contain various pigments some of which change colour as the pH of the plant tissue is changed by the addition of vinegar or other acids. The most common of these pigments are the anthocyanins which may be blue, colourless or red depending on the pH. These pigments may be involved in some colour changes observed in preserved garlic but American scientists have identified another more general explanation. Certain amino acids, natural components of foods, are responsible for many of the pigment characteristics of the onion family which includes garlic. The American scientists have shown that the outstanding difference in composition between garlic which turns green and garlic which does not is the presence of much higher levels of one particular amino acid in the green garlic. It is not possible to tell by looking at untreated garlic whether it is likely to become green on crushing and acidification. However the work reported indicates that if garlic bulbs are stored for four weeks at a temperature above 23°C prior to processing, the production of the green pigment is prevented. -Dr. T.

My garlic stayed its proper color. I think this is a delicious recipe but worry just a bit about all that olive oil. Yeah, I know it's good for you, but at 9 calories a gram! Anyway, I made it, I ate (some) of it and I loved it. Thanks. (I will continue to eat it, not to worry.)

In addition to eggplant, I used potatoes and zuccini (courgettes) in this recipe. My goal was to reconstruct a product called Mediterranean Salad I was able to buy until the company went out of business. My attempt was close--but I still wish I could just buy the product ready made. Here is how my recipe varies from John's as posted: I started with one 500g (just over a pound) eggplant from my neighbor's garden. I pealed it and cut it into cubes. As with the original recipe, I cooked it in batches until soft. Then I placed the batches in a strainer to drain before putting them on paper towels to absorb more of the moisture. After cooking the egplant, I cooked what appeared to be half that quantity of cubed zuccini in batches in the same vinegar/water solution. Again, this was put in a strainer before being placed on paper towels. Last, I cooked cubed potatoes in batches in the vinegar/water solution that remained. The pre-cooked quantity was visually the same as the cooked eggplant. Cooking the potatoes took much longer than would be the case in plain water. It must have take close to 20 minutes for those little cubes to get soft. Once all the above was cooked, I mixed everything together then added the seeasonings before putting it into a jar and covering it with oil. It was very, very tasty, but next time I am going to add more water to the remaining mixture as I cook the various vegetables. As the liquid boiled off, the vinegar solution got stronger. By the time I cooked the potatoes, it was almost a brine!

Hi John. Have no idea why the garlic turned blue, never happened to me. Tried research on the internet and found nothing. Sorry that I can't help you with this one.