Roasted eggplant along with lots of other vegetables, creates for a very veggie forward, tasty and nutritious dip, sauce, or spread!
Ingredients:
1.0-1.5 lb. Eggplant, rinsed, dried and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Red bell peppers, seeded, and cut into 1 inch in pieces
1 Red onion, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 Garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2.5 cups, Grape or cherry tomatoes, rinsed and halved
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garlic powder, onion powder, dried basil, to taste(optional)
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
Feta cheese (optional)
Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place eggplant, red bell peppers, onion and garlic on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine. Spread out in an even layer and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until some caramelization starts to occur.
Add halved cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper(add additional seasonings to taste, if desired or needed). Toss to combine. Roast another 15- 25 minutes until tomatoes have blistered and softened and most liquid has evaporated from the pan. Stir midway through the cooking time.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven and place on an oven rack to cool for about 5-10 minutes.
Using a food processor or potato masher, puree to desired consistency(for the variation you see in the photo, I pureed 3/4 of the mixture, about 4-6 pulses until most was chopped, however some chunks remained, and then stirred the remaining 1/4 of the roasted vegetables in to the puree to provide some additional texture and color). Taste and re-season, if needed.
Serve with whole grain pita, either grilled or toasted, pita chips, vegetable crudités, sliced baguette, and feta cheese to top.
Additional serving ideas:
For leftovers: use as a topping on a sandwich, or use like a sauce for pizza, or pita pizza. mix with pasta or another grain that you like.
