GRILLED EGGPLANT with PICKLED CHOW CHOW

If you want to add a little “Southern flare” to your menu, the addition of some chow chow will definitely do the trick.

Many food historians believe that this condiment found its way to the American South during the late 18th century via the Acadians who fled Nova Scotia after the French and Indian War. Many of these French immigrants dispersed into the southern United States, with a numerous population settling in and around Louisiana. Over time the “Acadians” became “Cadians”, and then ultimately our beloved “Cajuns”.

**If you want to dive into the history of the Cajun and Creole cultures, here are two resources: 1) The Historic New Orleans Collection, (deep dive), and 2) Experience New Orleans, (shallow dive).

Historically this condiment is made from a variety of fresh vegetables that have been pickled in a brine overnight, however our chow chow is very loosely based on this concept. Instead of going through the process of pickling, we use a mixture of purchased pickled vegetables, such as Giuliano pickled vegetables, as well as a few cocktail onions, marinated artichokes, olives, and a few Calabrian chilies for some spice. We usually throw in a few fresh ingredients like radish and parsley, or a mixture of chopped herbs to round out the flavors.

Chow chow is a welcome condiment to many grilled or roasted meats, poultry, vegetables, or even just a good chunky piece of bread. For the particular dish shown here, we chose to layer it atop a thick slice of grilled eggplant, which we served with Redfish and Zydeco sauce.

Grilled Eggplant with Pickled Chow Chow

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Condiment

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Pickled Chow Chow

• 1 Cup Pickled Vegetables, chopped Such As Giuliano Italian pickled vegetables
• 1/4 Cup Chopped pickled Cocktail Onions
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Marinated Artichokes
• 1/4 Cup Chopped Olives such as Kalamata, Green, Black-or a mixture
• 1/4 Cup Chopped or Julienned Radish
• 1-2 Calabrian Chiles Chopped (often found in a grocer’s olive bar)
• 1 Bunch Chopped Parsley, or Mixture of Herbs Add herbs such as Mint, Basil, Chives, and a bit of Tarragon
• 1 Cup Olive Oil Or enough to generously coat all ingredients

Grilled Eggplant

• 1 Large Italian Eggplant *For appetizer sizes, use the Japanese eggplant
• 1/4 Cup Olive oil
• Green Onion Tops, sliced. For garnish

Instructions

 

Pickled Chow Chow

• Combine all ingredients and set aside to allow the mixture to meld together, about 10-30 minutes.

  This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 weeks.

Grilled Eggplant

• Cut the Eggplant into thick slices, about 1 1/2 inches thick.

  Brush with Olive Oil and place on a hot grill or grill pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until the eggplant flesh becomes a golden color and a knife inserted has no “resistance”.
• Remove the Eggplant from the grill. Place on a plate and top it with the Pickled Chow Chow. Top with sliced Green Onion Tops.

  **We used a ring mold to plate our chow chow so that it holds its shape on top of the eggplant and does not spill over.

  You can find ring molds at stores like Williams Sonoma, or on Amazon.

Notes

This is a fantastic side for our Redfish with Zydeco Sauce, or anything that might have a little “richness”, as the pickled vegetables provide balance to those dishes. 

This is also great over grilled or roasted vegetables, grilled or roasted meats, poultry, fish, or even on bread or crackers. 

Keyword Chow Chow, Eggplant, Relish

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