One More Eggplant Triumph!

Fellow eggplant haters, are you still with me?!

Today I have one more delicious recipe that utilizes my (I guess we could say 'former') arch nemesis, the Eggplant.

Roasted Eggplant Spread
(adapted from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa)
 I 've never gone wrong with veganizing any of her recipes, and this one was actually vegan as written!

Ingredients
1 medium eggplant
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon tomato paste


Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion in half.
• Spread them face down, along with the garlic, on a baking sheet and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, flipping once during cooking.
• Cool slightly.
• Remove the flesh from the eggplant, and the seeds from the peppers. 
• Roughly chop and place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and a tbsp of olive oil and blend. 
• Pulse 3-4 times for more texture, or blend until smoother, your choice.  I blended mine a bit more smooth.
• Taste for salt and pepper.

*If you have jarred roasted red peppers on hand, those work great in this too!!

This dip has a wonderful roasted flavor and tastes amazing.  The roasted red pepper and the tomato paste add a fresh Mediterranean flavor to this.  Fresh oregano or basil would be a nice addition as well.  This dip is great spread right on plain bread, pitas, crackers, use it as a sandwich spread OR make mini pizza bites!

iPhone pic :P

Fresh baguette topped with eggplant spread and a sprinkle of Daiya Mozzarella, baked at 450 for 10-15 minutes.

Now that I have given eggplant a second chance, (and have actually found some new ways to enjoy it), I thought I'd look up its nutritional benefits:

"Eggplant is also an excellent source of dietary fiber, which can help protect against colon cancer and keeps the digestive system regular. The vitamins in eggplant consist primarily of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), B vitamins, folate and vitamin C. Eggplant is also rich in minerals, boasting a large quantity of potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous. With no fat, six carbs and 27 calories in a 1-cup serving, eggplant makes an excellent addition to any diet".
(From livestrong.com)

(B vitamins, huh? How great is that?!)
So there you go!  Eat  your Eggplant! ^_^

(I will post something other than eggplant tomorrow, I promise)