Argentinian aubergine “escabeche” preserve

“Escabeche” is a typical Ibero-American preserve. It consists of marinating cooked meat or vegetables vinegar and oil. And these aubergines in escabeche are a delicious starter normally present in Argentine barbecues. Its preparation does not present great difficulties and they are always an excellent appetizer to enjoy with a good bread while waiting for the great main course.

A large, clean canning jar is additionally required.

Wash and cut the aubergines into slices of approx. 1cm thick. Arrange them in a large dish, salt them generously and let them rest for an hour. After that, rinse them and press slightly, to get rid of excess liquid.

Heat the vinegar in a large pot with the same amount of water and some bay leaves. Cut the aubergines into cubes, and boil them for no more than 4-5 minutes. Strain them immediately and when they have cooled, transfer them to the jar together with the bay leaf, a sliced garlic clove, some peppercorns and oregano. Special Argentine ground red pepper can also be used (see down for more info).

Cover with extra virgin olive oil and keep in the fridge. It can be consumed immediately, but the flavors intensify after waiting at least one day.

Tips and tricks:

1. Don’t skip the previous step of salting the aubergines, in this way we get rid of their bitter liquid.
2. It is possible to use wine or apple vinegar, in this case I prefer the more intense flavor of the former.
3. Normally a neutral oil such as sunflower is used, but I always use extra virgin olive oil almost exclusively in all my recipes.
4. The already mentioned “ají molido” is a typical Argentinian spice, quite difficult to find in other latitudes. It looks like pepperoncino but its particularity is that it is not spicy. It’s possible to do without it for this recipe. Otherwise, use some type of spicier paprika, but always sparingly, to prevent its flavor from dominating too much.