Creamy Eggplant Dip

Hello faithful readers! I have missed you. I had a great weekend starting with the chocolate bar preview at the Langham Hotel, lots of cooking, boating (I made a silly little video, would it be lame to upload it?), eating at a couple of Dorchester restaurants, and more cooking, plus some online shopping and a slow acceptance of fall’s imminent arrival.

I’m happy to say my blog is fixed, and I am SO excited to start cranking out posts. It’s kind of nice that I missed it! Since I am a little behind and could not blog until late last evening, I thought I would share a super simple recipe I brought on board the boat this weekend for hanging out with friends. It’s an easy, creamy eggplant and tomato dip that is made flavorful with just a few simple ingredients.

1 whole eggplant, cut into slices and generously coated with olive oil

6-8 Roma tomatoes, cut in half, coated with olive oil

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 clove fresh garlic

Toss the eggplant and tomatoes together in the oil, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper. Put into a 420 oven for 40 minutes. In order to get even roasting, I cut the eggplant thin and the tomatoes thick. I only like eggplant that is falling-apart cooked, and I wanted to make sure it got there.

I think the 40 minutes did the trick. Once the veggies were cooled, I added them, along with about 1/4 cup of olive oil, plus the juices that were created in cooking to the blender with a clove of garlic.

I blended until smooth, adding a bit more olive oil and a pinch of sea salt before packing up this dip to store away for the next day. Except that I didn’t pack it all away. I ate almost half of the tupperware container, first with carrots and then tortilla chips. I wasn’t even planning on blogging this dip, but in its simplicity, it is pretty spectacular. We ate it the next day on bagel chips which were awesome, and I think it would also be great with pita and a simple tzatziki. It definitely got me thinking of a Mediterranean-inspired party or dinner, and I was happy to enjoy the flavors of summer as they hang out in my kitchen a little longer.

Have you had any pleasant kitchen surprises lately?