Italian grilled eggplant
- 2 large eggplants – see note in step 2
- Approximately 15 tablespoons (300ml) extra virgin olive oil
- Approximately 5 tablespoons (100ml) white wine vinegar
- 5 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- Sea salt
Requires: Chargrill or cast-iron frying pan
Slice the eggplant into rounds that are 0.5 to 1 centimetre thick.
If you are using black-skinned or elongated eggplant varieties, you will need to salt the eggplant. See varieties that don’t require pre-salting in the note below. To salt the eggplant, sprinkle both sides of the eggplant slices with salt and layer in a colander. Set aside for 20 minutes. Rinse under cold water, drain and use paper towel to pat dry.
Note: There are varieties of eggplant that have a more delicate flavour, are less seedy and are not bitter. These varieties don’t need to be salted then rinsed before cooking. In Italy, these eggplant varieties are known as violette which tend to be a vibrant purple colour. They include but are not limited to Rosa Bianca, Violetta di Firenze, Melanzana tonda viola (Prosperosa) and Melanzana zebrina viola. A close alternative available in Australia, America and other countries is Graffiti eggplant (also known as Zebra and Sicilian Eggplant).
Heat a chargrill or cast-iron frying pan over medium heat.
Place the eggplant slices to cover the pan. Grill the eggplant for 2 to 3 minutes on one side. Turn all of the eggplant. Salt to taste and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Transfer the cooked eggplant to a plate. Cook the remaining eggplant.
Arrange one row of cooked eggplant to cover the base of a serving plate, overlapping slightly. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar over the cooked eggplant layer (approximately 1/3). Sprinkle approximately 1/3 of the oregano, then 1/3 of the mint over the eggplant layer. Continue to add layers of eggplant and repeat the drizzling of extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar and sprinkling of oregano and mint until all of the eggplant has been marinated.
Allow the grilled eggplant to absorb flavour of the herbs for 15 minutes before serving. Buon appetito!
I made this using balsamic vinegar and fresh basil instead of mint (because i had it in the garden) it was delicious. Thank you
