OLS | Roasted Eggplant Spread

By Leslie Kedash

With our gardens and farmers’ markets bursting with vegetables I thought this was a good time to share one of my favorite recipes.

I brought this to a picnic Saturday night, and it tasted delicious with a nice glass of chilled white wine and good company.

If you have a favorite local food recipe you’d like me to try and share with our readers, please let me know. I’m always up for sampling new dishes.

Enjoy.

Roasted Eggplant Spread
From The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

This is a delicious easy and healthy.

1 medium eggplant peeled

2 red bell peppers

1 red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt

1/2 teaspoone freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a larger bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once durinf=g cooking. Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve with lightly toasted pita bread.