It’s the end of eggplant season (though there’s never a bad time to eat them), and we needed something to do with our favorite purple vegetable. Roasted? Definitely. And a chance to incorporate it into other foods we love? Even better.
The perfect solution? Read as follows:
Roasted Eggplant Dip Yield: 1qt
Ingredients:
3ea eggplant, (Italian) large, or about 3lbs raw
2ea sweet onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed and rough chopped
1T cardamom, ground
2T cumin, ground
2t cayenne Pepper
3ea lemons, zested and juiced
3c vegetable stock or water
4T sunflower oil or grapeseed oil
TT sea salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350f
Slice off the tops of the eggplants and then cut them in half and place cut side down on a lightly oiled sheet tray. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in oven until eggplant skin is caramelized with “squishy” and tender flesh.
Remove eggplant from oven and place into a non-reactive pot. I like to leave the skins on. For two reasons, nutritional value and the nuttiness they create. Yum.
Place onion, garlic, and spices into the pot and season with salt and just cover with vegetable stock or water. Bring to a boil and simmer until onions are translucent and cooked through.
Purée in a high speed blender with sunflower oil until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and whisk in lemon juice and zest. Then fold in fresh herbs.
Taste for seasoning.
Does it need more salt or cayenne? All the different types of eggplant have different sugar content and flavors can even fluctuate depending on growing conditions. This causes different flavors profiles. None are the same, so taste taste taste!
Top with some slightly charred pine nuts and a drizzle of virgin sunflower oil.
Use for fresh veggies, pita bread, sandwiches, wraps and etc…
