Roasted eggplant spread

I promised the recipe for eggplant dip and I won't disappoint!  But, a few other things to get out of the way:

I'm sorry I didn't mention this earlier but SnackTaxi, the reusable snack bag company is offering a "back to school" sale of 20% off their snack and sandwich bags until tomorrow.  Use code SCHOOL20 at checkout.

Also, there was a great article in the New York Times yesterday about schools cooking from scratch (as opposed to reheating food and other edible food-like substances that were created elsewhere).  It's a great trend that I hope continues.

Onto my veggie dip.  Inspired by the eggplant and red peppers that showed up on my door yesterday, I looked up Ina Garten's roasted eggplant spread (I'm not sure how a spread differs from a dip - if you know please let me know, I'm assuming it has to do with texture).  I've made it before, following the recipe precisely but this time I made a few changes.  No matter how I make it, it always comes out delicious.  And, for what it's worth, it's totally vegan.  Ina's recipe is below but in a nutshell, you roast the veggies, then blend them in a food processor with some wet ingredients.

Here is a photo of my veggies while roasting:

I actually forgot to add the garlic while roasting so I threw it in during the the food processor phase and I don't think you can tell the difference.  Here is the finished product served with veggies for dipping.  It would also taste great spread on toasted pita (it is a spread after all and not really a dip. . .)

The problem with eating vegan meals all the time (or even vegetarian) is that there is a LOT of chopping involved.  It's really time consuming.  I'm still thinking about vegan week; I'll have to factor in a lot of time for prep work.

Lastly I should share that I purchased a set of Lunchbot containers in the recent Hautelook sale (yes, their shipping rocks and they are here already.  You could learn a lesson from them, Zulily!).  As you know I am not 100% satisfied with my current Lunchbot container (nor their customer service) but I can't find too many other stainless steel options.  I wonder what delicious lunches these will hold for the new school year!

  

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants, peeled
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded
• 1 red onion, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish

Directions

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, cayenne and 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 lemon juice and tahini, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and add the chopped parsley. Garnish with extra parsley.