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I’m getting increasingly keen on making preserves. It takes me right back to my Grandad’s little kitchen and the smell of boiling vinegar. I miss him, and in a funny way, creating such boiled and jellied concoctions in my own family kitchen makes me feel closer to him and his memory.

To help us get a little more adventurous in our cooking, we’ve been working our way through Jams, a new cookbook by Gina Steer (Flame Tree, £9.99) that’s crammed with straightforward, easy to follow recipes for traditional jams, jellies, curds, chutneys and pickles.

This week, we had a go at preserving aubergines, which resulted in soft, pickled slices of aubergine, intensely flavoured with coriander, chilli, capers and five spice. A slice or two dotted through a salad adds an unusual zing.

The publishers kindly agreed to let me share the recipe with you. Let me know if you try it.

Note: I found that you really do need to follow the instructions and dry them really, really well at stages 2 and especially stage 3 or the texture will be wrong and they’ll be super strong flavoured! Also, you do need to give them those 2 weeks at least for the flavour to start to mellow.

Here’s how to make preserved aubergines. Makes about 450 g/1 lb

Ingredients

450 g (1 lb) aubergines
2–3 tbsp salt
300 ml (1/2 pint) water
300 ml (1/2 pint) white wine vinegar
2 tsp whole allspice
2 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tsp capers
50 g (2 oz) pitted olives
1 red chilli
2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
300 ml (1/2 pint) olive oil

Instructions

Trim and slice the aubergines. Layer with 1–2 tablespoons of the salt in a colander standing on a tray to catch the water extracted. Leave for 8 hours, then remove and discard the extracted water.
Pat the aubergine slices dry with kitchen paper, place in a saucepan with the remaining salt, water, vinegar, allspice and peppercorns. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat, then simmer for 5 minutes.
Drain the aubergines, discarding the vinegar mixture. Place the aubergines on plenty of absorbent kitchen paper. Leave until completely dry, replacing the paper as necessary.
Thoroughly rinse the salt off the capers, then chop finely with the olives, chilli and coriander.
Layer the aubergines with the chopped caper mixture in one or two sterilized glass jars with tight-fitting lids. Pour in sufficient oil to cover. Seal and store for at least 2 weeks before using.

Store in a cool place.

Here’s the recipe for preserved aubergines again in a printable format.

Preserved aubergines

This week, we had a go at preserving aubergines, which resulted in soft, pickled slices of aubergine, intensely flavoured with coriander, chilli, capers and five spice. A slice or two dotted through a salad adds an unusual zing.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Metric - Ounces

Ingredients

450 g aubergines
2 tbsp salt
300 ml water
300 ml white wine vinegar
2 tsp whole allspice
2 tbsp black peppercorns
2 tsp capers
50 g pitted olives
1 red chilli
2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
300 ml olive oil

Instructions

Trim and slice the aubergines. Layer with 1–2 tablespoons of the salt in a colander standing on a tray to catch the water extracted. Leave for 8 hours, then remove and discard the extracted water.
Pat the aubergine slices dry with kitchen paper, place in a saucepan with the remaining salt, water, vinegar, allspice and peppercorns. Bring to the boil and reduce the heat, then simmer for 5 minutes.
Drain the aubergines, discarding the vinegar mixture. Place the aubergines on plenty of absorbent kitchen paper. Leave until completely dry, replacing the paper as necessary.
Thoroughly rinse the salt off the capers, then chop finely with the olives, chilli and coriander.
Layer the aubergines with the chopped caper mixture in one or two sterilized glass jars with tight-fitting lids. Pour in sufficient oil to cover. Seal and store for at least 2 weeks before using.

* Note: nutritional information is estimated, based on publicly available data. Nutrient values may vary from those published.

Course: dips and condiments

Keywords: aubergine, preserved aubergines, preserves

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If you enjoyed this recipe, why not take a look at my list of 10 unusual foods to try?

Disclosure: we were sent the Jams cookbook for review. No payment was received. all posts are 100% honest.