Friday, May 28, 2010

Vegetable Caviar (Roasted Eggplant & Pepper Dip/Salad)

Eggplant Caviar on Toasted Pita With Arugula and Roasted Cherry Tomato

This colorful and nutritious veggie caviar is very easy to make; once you chop all the ingredients, the oven does the rest of the work. I was trying to clean out the fridge prior to going away for a few days and chopped up all the veggies available to make this dish. It got such rave reviews that it has become a regular at our home. Roasting produces an amazingly succulent result that is equally at home as a side dish, salad, or starter in an Italian or Indian setting.

6 - 8 Side Dish Servings

Ingredients:


1 large Globe or 2 big Japanese Eggplants, diced
3 medium Zucchini, diced
1 Each Red, Green, Yellow, and Orange Bell Peppers, diced
1 large Red Onion, diced
1 clove Garlic, minced (optional)
1/2 to 1 tsp Red Pepper flakes (to taste)
2 Tbsp fresh Thyme leaves, chopped
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 pinch Turmeric
2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 large Ripe Tomatoes, diced (Optional)
3 Tbsp fresh Basil, chopped

2 Tbsp fresh Basil, torn coarsely


Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet by coating it lightly with cooking spray or olive oil.

Place all the veggies in the baking pan; add salt, turmeric, thyme, chili flakes, olive oil and stir well to coat.

Place pan on the bottom rack of the oven and roast the veggies for about 40 minutes or until soft and lightly browned. Stir gently every ten minutes or so during baking to insure that all the veggies cook evenly.

If using tomatoes, stir them in after 30 minutes or the eggplants are soft and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until soft.

Remove from the oven and cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Mix in the chopped basil leaves.

Place on a serving dish and sprinkle the torn basil on top.

Lovely served cool or cold, it is just as wonderful served warm or at room temperature with good crusty bread, wholegrain crackers, warm chapati or toasted pita bread wedges. Also delicious served with Yogurt Rice or plain rice and Simple Dal.

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