Well, who does not know her! “Overseas caviar, eggplant” evokes nostalgia for those times when it was prepared according to GOST, it had an excellent taste and cost a penny. Now everything has changed, but eggplant caviar, like in the housewife’s store, continues to be cooked as before. At the height of the vegetable season, blue ones are inexpensive, the range of other vegetables without which delicious caviar simply does not work is large enough. Yes, and the price for them “does not bite.”
Every housewife who is fond of canning has her own recipe for making eggplant caviar. Usually it corresponds to the taste preferences of all household members. But in order to get eggplant caviar, like store-bought caviar, you need not only to cook it in a certain way, but also strictly observe the proportions of the desired products.
Eggplant caviar from fried vegetables
According to this recipe, all vegetables are first fried, and then chopped. The calorie content of the finished product will be quite high, since a lot of oil is needed with this method of preparation. If you want the workpiece to be spicy, add any pepper to the products listed in the recipe.
To make caviar tasty for 2 kg of eggplant, you need to take:
- ripe tomatoes – 1,5 kg;
- carrots, onions, bell peppers – 1 kg each;
- sugar – 1 tbsp. spoon
- coarse salt – 3 tbsp. spoons, slides should not be. Do not use iodized salt for canning. Billets seasoned with it will not stand.
- refined lean oil – about 400 g;
- as a seasoning, you can use hot or ground pepper, black or fragrant, dill.
Cut medium-sized eggplant into cubes, not very large, place in a saucepan, sprinkle with salt. She will need 5 tbsp. spoons. Pour the mixed eggplants with water and soak for ¾ hours.
While the blue ones are getting wet, we rub the carrots, cut the onions, tomatoes and peppers into cubes. If you plan to use capsicum hot pepper, it must be chopped with a blender.
Strain the eggplant, rinse with cold water and pat dry. Fry eggplants, onions, carrots, tomatoes alternately in vegetable oil.
We combine all the vegetables in a saucepan, season with salt, pepper, sugar and cook for 40 minutes at a low boil.
Beat the prepared vegetable mixture with a hand mixer. If the dish is intended for the winter, the caviar must be boiled again, and then packaged in sterile dry jars and rolled up.
You can do it differently. Cover jars with lids and sterilize in a water bath. For cans with a volume of 0,5 liters, 15 minutes is enough, liter ones will have to be sterilized for about 20 minutes.
Eggplant caviar, as in the store, can also be prepared from baked eggplant.
“Overseas” caviar from baked eggplant
According to this recipe, eggplants are pre-baked. This treatment makes the workpiece more tender, and the addition of herbs gives it a spicy taste. Carrots are not added to this caviar.
For 2 kg of medium-sized eggplant you will need:
- bell pepper and tomatoes – 1 kg each;
- onion turnips – 0,5 kg;
- refined lean oil – 200 ml;
- vinegar 9% – 5 tbsp. spoons;
- salt – a tablespoon with a large slide;
- sugar – 2 tbsp. spoons without a slide;
- ground black pepper – to taste;
- greens, parsley is better – 1 bunch.
First of all, bake the eggplant. This should be done at a temperature of about 200 degrees for about 40 minutes. Do not cut the tails of the eggplant, then they will be soft along the entire length. Put them on a dry baking sheet.
All other vegetables are cleaned and chopped in a food processor. You can do this with a blender or meat grinder.
The easiest way to do this is by scalding the tomatoes with boiling water, and then dousing them with cold water.
We clean the warm eggplants, chop and add to the rest of the vegetables. The mixture must be salted, seasoned with pepper, sugar and chopped herbs. If you do not plan to store caviar, you can immediately serve it to the table. In a dish prepared in this way, all the beneficial properties of vegetables are preserved.
For winter storage, the vegetable mixture will still have to be stewed for an hour over low heat. You need to mix often. The finished product should immediately be packaged in sterilized jars and rolled up.
This recipe is taken from a Soviet-era book intended for catering establishments. Therefore, it is closest in taste to store-bought eggplant caviar.
The author’s name of the dish is “Nostalgia”. Roasted vegetables give it a tender texture, garlic gives it a little spiciness, and bay leaves give it a touch of spice.
Eggplant caviar “Nostalgia”
Since the main vegetables are baked for it, the oil content in this blank is minimal. Such a dish can be eaten by children, those who want to lose weight, and even those who have digestive problems.
To prepare this caviar for 3 medium-sized or 2 large eggplants, you will need:
- tomatoes – 3 pcs, also medium;
- onions – 1 pc;
- garlic – 3 cloves;
- vinegar – 1 teaspoon;
- bay leaf – 1 pc.;
- salt and pepper to taste.
Roast tomatoes and eggplant together on a dry baking sheet in the oven. The temperature should be about 200 degrees, and the baking time depends on the density of vegetables and ranges from 30 minutes to an hour.
We cut the onion into small pieces, sauté with a small amount of vegetable oil until it becomes golden. At the very end, add finely chopped garlic cloves, fry together for 5 minutes.
Eggplants and tomatoes are peeled and chopped together with fried onions in a food processor.
Vegetables should not be completely cooled. They are best peeled while still warm.
We simmer the chopped vegetable puree in a thick-walled bowl over the smallest fire until thick. During this time, the caviar should acquire a standard, only its inherent color. At the beginning of languor, add salt and pepper to taste, add bay leaf. When the caviar is ready, take it out and pack the blank into jars. They must be not only sterilized, but also dry. Close the jars with sterilized lids tightly.
Eggplant caviar, like in a store, is a universal dish. It goes well with both potatoes and cereals and pasta. It can serve as a side dish for a meat dish and spread on a sandwich. Mild taste and healthy ingredients are its main advantages. And the ease of preparation will allow even novice housewives to prepare eggplant for the winter.