Italian marinated eggplant

plate of marinated eggplant slices stacked together.

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5 from 1 vote

An easy antipasto or side dish, perfect for summer.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: approx (depending how served)

Calories: 200kcal

Author: Caroline

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Ingredients

For eggplant

1 lb eggplant aubergine, approximately 1 medium
¼ teaspoon salt approximately, for sprinkling on eggplant
1 ½ tablespoon olive oil approximately, for brushing

For marinade

1 clove garlic large
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint finely chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon oregano optional

Instructions

Slice the eggplant into medium-thick slices, around ¼ -⅓ inch (0.6 - 1cm) thick. Spread out the slices and sprinkle lightly with salt and leave around 5-10 minutes while you prepare the marinade so that the salt draws out a little liquid.
For the marinade, finely chop the garlic and mint leaves. Mix the garlic, mint, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano in the bottom of a medium baking dish. It should form a shallow layer.
Pat dry the eggplant slices with paper towel and brush off any remaining salt. Lightly brush the slices with oil and warm the grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill for a few minutes each side - around 3 - 5 minutes per side - until you can feel the slices are soft and there are a few grill marks.
As the eggplant is done cooking, transfer the slices to the dish with the marinade and carefully dip both sides in the marinade so it is gently coated. Stack the slices to one side, so you have space to add more, spooning a little of the garlic and herbs on top as you go, if needed. Once all of the eggplant has cooked, you can either serve straight away or leave to marinade further for around 30 minutes or so. You may want to change around the order of slices so they all have some time towards the bottom where they absorb more. When ready to serve, transfer slices to a plate and drizzle over any leftover marinade.

Notes

If you have fresh oregano, this would be even better as dry can sometimes be a little coarse in texture. If using fresh, you may want slightly more.

You can also store marinated eggplant in the fridge in a sealed container for a day or two, allowed to come to room temperature first.

While this works really well with wine vinegar and fresh mint, you could try using lemon juice and/or other herbs such as basil, as mentioned above - they will just give a slightly different end flavor.

Nutrition

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