Roasted Eggplant Spread

Original Recipe HERE

I wasn't sure what direction I was going to go in with this recipe, but it looked healthy and easy and versatile.  So I just made it and figured my gourmands would do whatever they wanted with it.  Turns out everyone liked it on pasta, and they dipped toasted Italian bread slices in the leftovers on their plates.  It really tasted like regular pasta sauce and not too vegetable-y.  It made plenty for four people plus leftovers for the next day plus still some sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be frozen.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant

2 red bell peppers

1 medium red onion

3-4 cloves garlic

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 400 and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

(2) Chop eggplant, peppers, and onion into 1″ cubes. Smash the garlic and chop if necessary.

(3) Toss vegetables with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread vegetables evenly in prepared baking sheet.

(4) Roast vegetables for 20 minutes. Gently stir vegetables; roast for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and browning. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

(5) Place vegetables and tomato paste into blender or food processor [I used a blender] and pulse until the desired consistency is reached.

(6) Serve warm with slices of sourdough bread, pita chips, flatbread, or focaccia or toss with hot pasta.  Yield: 3 cups [if I'm remembering correctly]

Notes: Next time I'll plan ahead to serve it with pasta and add either some jarred sauce (or just water) to the blending step to thin it out.  Also, additional seasonings like garlic powder, basil, oregano, etc. are options to explore.

Kid Participation: Pushing buttons on the blender or food processor