Roasted Eggplant Chevre And Sun Dried Tomato Spread Food

ROASTED EGGPLANT SPREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large 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 during 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.

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat broiler, with rack in top third of oven. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Use a fork to prick eggplants all over; prick tomatoes in a few places. Place both vegetables on prepared sheet and broil, turning occasionally, until charred all over and very soft, 15 to 20 minutes for tomatoes and slim eggplants, up to 40 minutes for larger eggplants. Remove as done and place in a sieve set over a bowl; let cool.
• When cool enough to handle, peel eggplants and tomatoes. Remove and chop pulp finely; place in a bowl. Add chiles, shallot, mint, cilantro, lime juice, and 2 teaspoons mustard oil; season with salt and pepper. Mix and taste for balance of seasonings, adjusting as necessary. Refrigerate until ready to serve, or up to 2 days.
• Put chokah in a serving bowl; drizzle remaining 1 teaspoon mustard oil over top. Serve cold or room temperature.

ROASTED GARLIC AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD

Steps:

• To roast the garlic: Cut top 1/4" off the heads, place on foil and drizzle with olive oil. Enclose in the foil and bake at 350 till soft, about 30 - 40 minutes.
• Let garlic cool a bit and squeeze the pulp out of the cut-off top into a bowl. Beat with the cheeses and oregano till smooth.
• Drain and chop the tomatoes, and add with the walnuts to mixture, stir.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, 24 hours is best to blend flavors.

SMOKY TOMATO AND EGGPLANT SPREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Partially peel the outside of the eggplant, leaving 1 1/2- to 2-inch strips of skin intact, creating alternating stripes of flesh and skin. Cut the eggplant into 2-inch cubes and add it to a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the eggplant with 6 tablespoons of the olive oil, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Transfer the eggplant to the oven and roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through. After 40 minutes the eggplant should be very tender and browned.
• In the meantime, heat a high-sided skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallot has softened, about 5 minutes. Next, add the red pepper and garlic and stir to combine. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, cayenne and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir to coat the vegetables in the spices. Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 25 minutes.
• Add the cooked eggplant to the tomato mixture and stir to combine, slightly mashing the eggplant into the sauce. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and serve with grilled sourdough.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO PUREE

Steps:

• Cover dried tomatoes with water and bring to a simmer. Turn off heat. Let cool down in liquid to plump up tomatoes. Drain well and set in food processor with garlic and olive oil Puree until you have a smooth mixture but one which still has texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Incorporate additions if you wish, or leave that to last minute. Store as is (or incorporate additions) in the freezer or transfer to a jar and cover the top with a film of olive oil.

ROASTED EGGPLANTS AND TOMATOES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Cut cross-hatch marks over the cut side of the eggplants. Arrange the eggplants and the Roma tomatoes cut side up on the prepared baking sheet. Brush with 2 tablespoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Whisk 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano in a small bowl to blend. Stir in the diced tomatoes. Season with salt. Spoon the oil mixture over the eggplants. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and pepper.
• Stir the bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, 2 teaspoons of garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon of oregano in another small bowl to blend. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the Roma tomatoes.
• Bake until the vegetables are tender and the bread crumb topping is brown, about 30 minutes.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO DIP

Steps:

• Puree the tomatoes, cream cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, red pepper sauce, salt and pepper in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions and pulse twice. Serve at room temperature.

ROASTED EGGPLANT, CHEVRE AND SUN DRIED TOMATO SPREAD

Steps:

• Cut the eggplant in 2 inch pieces lengthwise then cut in half. Brush the eggplant with 3 TBS of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and place long cut side down on a non-stick baking sheet. Bake in 325 degree oven for about 45 minutes until soft but not mushy. Eggplant flesh should be a roasted medium brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Add everything except the goat cheese to a food processor and process to a fine puree. Add the Chevre and pulse to blend, leaving enough cheese texture so you can see chunks of white. Serve as an appetizer.

SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
• Add remaining ingredients; mix well.
• Serve with sliced French baguettes or crackers.
• Variation: Substitute roasted red peppers for the tomatoes and walnuts for the pecans.

EGGPLANT AND SUN-DRIED TOMATO SPREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
• Cut off and discard top of garlic head to expose cloves. Brush top of head with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Wrap garlic in foil and roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Cool to warm, then squeeze garlic cloves from skins into a small bowl, discarding skins.
• Meanwhile, cut eggplant into 1/2-inch pieces and toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a large colander. Let drain 30 minutes. Squeeze eggplant in a kitchen towel to remove liquid.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté one third of eggplant until browned and tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Cook remaining eggplant in olive oil in same manner (in 2 batches), transferring to bowl.
• Add 1 cup cooked eggplant to garlic and coarsely mash together. Stir into remaining eggplant with sun-dried tomatoes (without tomato oil), parsley, basil, lemon juice, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Season with salt and drizzle with tomato oil.
• What to drink:
• Artezin Mendocino Zinfandel '07 or Château de Chamirey Mercurey Rouge '07