Pickled Eggplants Stuffed with Garlic, Pepper, and Parsley

Eggplants, the vegetable of choice throughout the eastern Mediterranean, are not just fried and baked as appetizers and main dishes. They are also cooked into a syrup for one of Greece’s most exotic preserves. Pickled stuffed eggplants are a ubiquitous feature in the meze spread and come in many variations. I learned this southern Albanian version from Drita Aliay, my friend Ela’s mother. We prepared it together in the fall using the garden’s last eggplants. I suggested we steam, instead of