Lebanese
Makdous
Oil-cured baby eggplants stuffed with walnut, pepper, garlic, and chile, offering a rich, tangy, softly fermented mezze bite.
12 servings · 75 minutes prep · 15 minutes cook
Ingredients
Main
- 2 lb small baby eggplants
- 3 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper
- 2 cups olive oil, plus more as needed
Directions
Method
- Trim the baby eggplants, leaving the caps mostly intact. Simmer in salted water until just tender but still holding their shape, 8-10 minutes.
- Drain and cool the eggplants. Slit each one lengthwise without cutting all the way through, then sprinkle the interiors with some of the kosher salt.
- Arrange the salted eggplants slit-side down in a sieve or colander, set a plate and weight on top, and refrigerate to drain for 24 hours.
- Mix the walnuts, red bell pepper, garlic, and Aleppo pepper. Taste the drained eggplants; if they are very salty, wipe away excess salt before stuffing.
- Stuff each eggplant with the walnut mixture. Pack the eggplants snugly into a sterilized jar, pressing gently to remove air pockets without crushing them.
- Cover completely with the olive oil, adding more if needed so every eggplant stays submerged. Refrigerate immediately at {{temperature:40°F}} or colder and cure chilled for 3 days.
- Keep refrigerated the entire time, check daily that the eggplants remain covered with oil, use clean utensils, and discard any remainder 7 days after the oil was added. Never treat makdous as shelf-stable; discard if you see bubbling, mold, off odors, or exposed eggplant.
