Roasted Eggplant Spread

Ryan loves hummus. Any hummus. All hummus. We don’t even buy hummus anymore because Ryan will eat the entire container without even noticing it.

The basis of any hummus is the chickpea and tahini. Now this spread doesn’t have any chickpeas in it, but it does have tahini, which is a middle eastern paste made from ground sesame seeds. 

Colorful veggies.

Chop up and roast.

Bring out all of those flavors.

Let cool and put in the food processor.

Add tahini and lemon juice.

Finish with fresh parsley and serve with pita chips.

ROASTED EGGPLANT SPREAD - Serves 6-8

Adapted from Ina Garten's Roasted Eggplant Spread

(printable version)

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, peeled

1 red bell pepper, seeded

1 red onion, peeled

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons good olive oil

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1½ teaspoons kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons tahini

3 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. In a small bowl, whisk the garlic, olive oil, cayenne and salt and pepper. Put the cut up vegetables in a large bowl (that has a lid) or a freezer bag, pour the olive oil mixture on top and shake, shake, shake until evenly coated. Roast for 40 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the lemon juice and tahini, and pulse a few times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped parsley. Garnish with extra parsley. Serve with toasted pitas or pita chips.

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