Roasted eggplant dip

By Tali Simon | September 26, 2011

Anyone else feeling the pre-Rosh Hashanah crunch? I started cooking 15 days in advance, and I still feel like I’m way in over my head.

It’s not Rosh Hashanah, per se. It’s everything, all at once. There are deadlines at work, and laundry and dishes at home (fortunately, there’s also my husband at home). There are about 37 Shana Tova phone calls, many of which need to be made to people in other time zones. There was Shabbos…there’s the nightly dinner thing…so of course I’m giving up on the idea of ever going to bed on time until the end of the month. And by that I mean Tishrei. The month that hasn’t actually started.

(I haven’t even gotten into preparing for the day itself. A foodie I may be, but I know this holiday is not about eating. No, really.)

When there are so many other things demanding my attention, I look for neat little recipes like this roasted eggplant spread. It’s as simple as roast, process, refrigerate.

The key to roasted anything is in the roasting. Let your oven reach the full tempearature before sliding that tray in, and make sure the veggies stay in long enough. If the peppers are turning black at the edges, you’ve done well.

If you’re looking for something to spice up your first course this Yom Tov, this is a winner. MUCH better than any store-bought version, and easy on the time.

Roasted Eggplant Dip
From Norene’s Healthy Kitchen

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant
2 red peppers
1 red onion
1 whole bulb garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp tomato paste
fresh parsley, for garnishing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F/200 C.

2. Peel eggplant and slice into 2-inch chunks. Slice onion and peppers into chunks about the same size as the eggplant.

3. Place vegetables in a single layer on a baking tray lined with silver foil. Use a pastry brush to lightly coat with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4. Slice the top off of the garlic bulb, exposing the tops of the cloves, and brush a bit of olive oil over the cut side. Wrap in silver foil and place on the tray with vegetables.

5. Roast for about an hour, or until the pepper skins begin to blacken. Keep an eye on them after 45 minutes or so, as cooking times will vary.

6. Transfer vegetables to food processor (squeeze out all garlic cloves and discard skins), add tomato paste, and process with quick on/off pulses. You’re done!