Italian Pickled Eggplant

from sipandfeast.com

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds eggplant
• 1/4 cup chopped hot cherry peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 2 TBSP kosher salt
• 1 cup vinegar
• 2 cups water

Directions:

1. Begin by peeling and slicing the eggplant into long strips that are roughly 1″ wide and 1/4″ thick.
2. Place a large colander in an empty kitchen sink, and layer the eggplant, sprinkling kosher salt on each layer. (Keep layering until the whole colander is filled.)
3. Chop up about a quarter cup of cherry peppers.
4. Mince 2 cloves of garlic.
5. Chop up the fresh parsley.
6. After about 6 hours the eggplant strips will have lost a lot of their water.  You can then rinse the eggplant strips to remove some of the salt.  Squeeze out as much liquid as possible, then set the eggplant strips aside.
7. Bring a pot with 1 cup vinegar and 2 cups water to a boil. After the water and vinegar mixture comes to a boil, cook the eggplant in the pot for 2-3 minutes.  Strain the eggplant in a colander to let dry.
8. After the eggplant cools a bit, squeeze out any excess water from the eggplant and lay out on paper towels.
9. In jars, layer the eggplant, parsley, touch of garlic and cherry peppers. Continue layering until the jars are filled.
10. Pour extra virgin olive oil into each jar, making sure to completely cover the eggplant with oil.  Let the mixture settle and press down the eggplant, then top off with more olive oil
11. Cap and refrigerate for up to a week.