Mais's Makdous (Stuffed Pickled Eggplant)

Ingredients

• 1 kg medium eggplants
• 150 g walnuts
• 1 1/2 large heads of garlic
• 2 tbsp chili paste
• 2 tbsp pepper paste, if available
• 1 large red bell pepper (add hot pepper if you like)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• Coarse salt

Method

1. Wash the eggplants and boil them whole in a large pot with a plate on top to keep them submerged. Count 15 minutes after boiling, then drain.
2. Remove the stem of each eggplant, slit it, put half a teaspoon of coarse salt inside and rub it in.
3. Arrange in a flat colander, cover with a bag and press with a heavy weight (a large water bottle) for 2 1/2 to 3 days until all the liquid drains out.
4. On the third day, pulse the walnuts, garlic and peppers (hot and sweet) a few times in a food processor, and add the pepper paste and a teaspoon of salt.
5. Stuff the eggplants as full as you like, wipe each one with kitchen paper, pack tightly into a 1 kg jar and add pure olive oil gradually until it seeps through everything. Leave at least a week.

Notes

Do not use regular table salt because it contains iodine.