Roasted Eggplant (Aubergine) Caviar

Shelley (aka Rachelle)'s Note:

Healthy, easy. There are no exact amounts for this spread/salad/side-dish. Experiment with ingredients/amounts.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 large heavy eggplants
• 2 heads garlic
• 2⁄3; cup vidalia onion , chopped
• 2⁄3; cup red bell pepper , chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more to brush garlic)
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• parsley (optional) or tarragon (optional) or thyme (optional) or cumin (optional)

Directions:

1. Stab eggplant and roast in medium-hot oven along with garlic heads (brush garlic with olive oil) turn occasionally, until eggplant collapses and garlic is soft.
2. (You can use parchment paper or silpat pad to line a pan.) Can also be done in a covered grill.
3. Chop onion and red pepper.
4. After eggplant cools, scoop out flesh, discarding rind, and squeeze roasted garlic cloves into eggplant.
5. Either chop or puree eggplant/garlic in a processor or coarsely hand chop the mixture.
6. Add the chopped onion and red peppers but don't process further-the caviar should have crunch from these raw ingredients.
7. Add olive oil, Kosher salt, black pepper (and optional herbs &/or spices) and mix well.
8. Serve with regular or toasted pita, crackers or crudites.

Reviews

[LikeItLoveIt]

This was really good. Everything was equaled out with everything else. Well done!

[brunsmi]

This is almost a copy of a famous recepie from my hometown of Odessa, Ukraine. I add a small amount of fried onins to counter the bitterness of eggplant. I also use raw garlic instead of fresh. I roast the pepers along with the eggplant. To add a middle-eastern flavor I might add processed cilantro leaves and walnuts. It is my absolutely favorite eggplant recepie.

[Dee514]

I love eggplant, and I'm always looking for new ways to prepare it. This is definitely one :) I've made it twice in the past few weeks. Loved the flavor and the coarsly chopped peppers and onions gave it a good texture (not a fan of cumin, so I omitted it). I had this for supper spread on 7 grain whole wheat toast...very yummy. Also served it with crackers as an appetizer, and it was enjoyed by all.