Roasted Eggplant Spread

Oh eggplants, you wonderful weird looking vegetable. For the longest time I thought I absolutely hated you. Thanks to Hungry Harvest* and my boyfriend’s eggplant parm skills, I have turned a new leaf. Now I look forward to gobbling up this oddly shaped plant.

*The link above is a referral, and if you click it and order, you and I will each receive $5 off of our next Hungry Harvest order! Don’t know what Hungry Harvest is? Check out my post: 5 Reasons I Love Hungry Harvest

Once I finally discovered my love for eggplant, I found my self always making the same (fairly unhealthy) meal – eggplant parm. I started to become bored with it, and began to get creative. My first stab at re-inventing my eggplant experience was to make a healthier and more fun version of eggplant parm: Eggplant Dippers (whole 30 compliant).

But the fun didn’t stop there! The dippers are great and all, but I wanted to find a way to eat eggplant that didn’t require tomato sauce. I found some recipes online for baba ganoush and was intrigued. Unfortunately, I didn’t have all the ingredients necessary to follow the recipe. Instead I made my own version! I wouldn’t call it baba ganoush, though.

This roasted eggplant spread is super tasty and has a little bit of a kick. I love to use it in wraps (Chicken & Roasted Eggplant Wrap) in place of mayo. It brings a great moisture to the wrap or sandwich and a really wonderful flavor. You could also use this as a dip with veggies and pita bread! Get creative with it. : )

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant
• 3 garlic cloves
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 TBSP chopped parsley
• 1 TSP cumin
• Cayenne (to preference)
• Salt + Pepper
• Olive oil

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Slice eggplant in half (length wise) and place skin-side up on an oiled baking sheet (I like to line the pan with foil as well)
• Lightly coat the skin with oil
• Coat garlic cloves lightly in oil and wrap in a small piece of tin foil – place on the baking sheet with the eggplant.
• Roast eggplant and garlic on the top rack for 20 minutes. The skin of the eggplant should become charred and the flesh soft.
• Remove eggplant and garlic from the oven and allow it to cool.
• Using a spoon, scoop the eggplant flesh out of the skin. Discard skin, and transfer the flesh into a blender or food processor.
• Add roasted garlic, lemon juice, parsley and spices to the blender. Blend until smooth or desired consistency.
• Done! Now dip those veggies in the mix, or spread it on your sandwhich!

Happy Munching : )

I am linking with Confessions of a Mother Runner for Meatless Monday!