🍆 Makdous (Stuffed Pickled Eggplant in Oil)

Method

1. Choose 2 kg baby eggplants of even size, wash them and remove the stems.

2. Boil them in salted boiling water over medium heat for 10 minutes until tender but not falling apart, then drain.

3. Let them cool, then make a lengthwise slit in the side of each one without cutting through to the other side.

4. Sprinkle a little salt inside each one, arrange them upside down on a tilted tray under a weight, and leave for 24 hours.

5. Finely chop 4 red peppers and squeeze out their water with your hand (chop the chillies with them if you have them).

6. Mix 2 cups crushed walnuts with the peppers, the crushed head of garlic and salt into a firm filling.

7. Open each eggplant, stuff it with a spoonful of filling and close it with your fingers.

8. Pack them tightly into a clean, dry glass jar, slit side up.

9. Cover them with olive oil until it sits a finger's width above the top eggplant.

10. Seal the jar and keep it in a cool place for at least a week, then serve the makdous on a plate with a little of its oil.

💡 One more secret for this dish in the Tahwa app (Plus).