Best Strange Flavor Eggplant Spread Recipes

ROASTED EGGPLANT SPREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Mix first 4 ingredients. Place vegetables in a large bowl; toss with oil mixture. Transfer to a 15x10x1-in. pan coated with cooking spray. Roast vegetables until softened and lightly browned, 45-50 minutes, stirring once., Transfer to a food processor; cool slightly. Add tomato paste; pulse just until blended (mixture should be chunky)., Transfer to a bowl; cool completely. Serve with baguette slices or crackers.

SMOKY EGGPLANT SPREAD

Steps:

• Prepare a charcoal fire or heat the broiler. Pierce eggplants here and there with the point of a paring knife. Place eggplants 2 inches from heat source. Allow skins to blister and char, turning with tongs until entire surface is blackened and eggplants are completely soft, about 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.
• Slice eggplants in half lengthwise and lay skin side down on a cutting board. Carefully scrape away flesh with a knife and put it in a colander. Discard burned skins. Do not rinse eggplant flesh - a few bits of remaining char is fine. Salt flesh lightly and leave for 5 to 10 minutes, then squeeze into a ball to remove liquid.
• Blitz eggplant, 1/2 teaspoon salt, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne in a food processor or blender to obtain a creamy purée. (For a more rustic spread, beat with a whisk instead.) Taste and adjust salt and lemon juice if necessary. Transfer mixture to a shallow serving bowl.
• Just before serving, stir together cumin and olive oil, and spoon over the mixture's surface. Sprinkle with paprika, parsley and mint. Serve with warm pita cut into triangles if desired.

STRANGE-FLAVOR EGGPLANT (RECIPE BY BARBARA TROPP FROM THE CHINA MOON COOKBOOK)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 475°F. Remove the leaves from the eggplant and prick in several places. Bake, turning once, until fork-tender, 20 - 40 minutes. Remove eggplant from oven and slit lengthwise to speed cooling. While still warm, remove the stem end and peel, scraping off the pulp and reserving. Process the pulp in a food processor until nearly smooth. Combine aromatics in a small bowl. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl. In a large skillet over med-high heat, add oil and swirl to coat. Cook aromatics until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the sauce and simmer briefly (30 seconds?). Add eggplant puree to skillet and stir well to blend and heat through. Remove from heat, taste and adjust chile flakes, sugar or vinegar to achieve a well-balanced flavor. Stir in sesame oil. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to meld. Serve at room temperature.

STRANGE FLAVOR EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Pierce eggplant with fork in several places. Bake at 475 until tender and somewhat collapsed (20-40 minutes).
• Remove from oven and slash down the center. When cool enough to handle, remove flesh from skin and puree in food processor or blender.
• In large frying pan, briefly saute ginger, garlic, scallions, and red pepper in canola oil.
• Mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and hot water to make sauce.
• Add sauce to ingredients in frying pan and bring to a gentle simmer.
• Add eggplant, mix together, and heat through.
• Remove from heat, add sesame oil, and mix thoroughly.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with pita chips or crostini.

EGGPLANT SPREAD

Steps:

• Pierce the eggplants in several places with a fork and grill them on a rack set about 4 inches over glowing coals for 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are very soft. (Alternatively, the eggplants may be broiled on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 6 inches from the heat, turning them, for 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are soft.) Let the eggplants cool until they can be handled, halve them, and discard as many seeds as possible. Scrape the flesh away from the skin and squeeze the eggplant gently between paper towels to remove as much excess liquid as possible. In a bowl mash the eggplant coarse, stir in the onion, the garlic, the minced herbs, the oil, the vinegar, the capers, and salt and pepper to taste, and let the spread stand, covered and chilled, for 3 hours to allow the flavors to develop. The eggplant spread may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Garnish the eggplant spread with the parsley sprigs and serve it with the pita wedges.

EGGPLANT SPREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Prick each eggplant in several places with a fork. Put unpeeled eggplants and unpeeled garlic cloves in one or two baking tins. Pour 1/4 cup olive oil over the garlic and place the baking pans in the oven for approximatley 1 1/4 hours, or until eggplants become wrinkled and collapse totally when pressed. Baste garlic cloves with pan oil during cooking. When cooked, garlic should be soft but golden brown. When eggplant and garlic are done, let stand until cool enough to handle. Reserve basting oil.
• Cut cooked eggplants in half and scoop out soft flesh, including seeds, into a mixing bowl. Squeeze garlic pulp from skins and add to bowl. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper. Mash and mix together with a fork, adding remaining olive oil and reserved basting oil as you mix. Adjust seasonings.