Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Spread
This recipe came off a whim. I love eggplant, but I was having creator’s block and couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do with it. Much like I do with a lot of my vegetables, I roasted it. I had some tomatoes that were about to go bad so I threw those in too. You can do so many things with eggplant. There’s eggplant fries, roasted eggplant over pasta, eggplant parmesan…the list can go on. It’s also really good for you. It’s low in calories and a great source of potassium. It’s considered an antioxidant and can assist in preventing kidney issues.
The smokiness of the eggplant is unreal. It’s almost like using liquid smoke. When I blended it with the tomatoes and red pepper, the consistency was very creamy but also made for a great dip or spread for garlic or French bread. I bet this recipe would be just as good, or not better as a pasta sauce. Now that’s a good idea!
Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Spread
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 large tomatoes
- 1 sweet onion
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 4 bunches of basil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp plant based butter
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cayenne pepper (optional)
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Slice the eggplant, pepper, and tomatoes and remove skin from garlic
- Place on a baking sheet and drizzle on olive oil. Bake for 40-45 minutes
- Remove vegetables from oven and let cool
- While vegetables are cooling, carmelize onions in a skillet with plant based butter and 1/2 tsp salt. Let cool.
- Add all ingredients to a food precessor and blend until smooth. Add in lemon juice and sugar. Salt and pepper to taste.
- This spread is best if consumed the next day. It has more falvor and picks up more of the smoky taste from the eggplant. Serve hot.