Eggplant Dip (or spread, take #2)

I think this is now officially a dip and not a spread.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large eggplant or one small
• 1/4 sauteed onion
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pepper (black and red)
  
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut eggplant in half and place on greased cookie sheet, cut side down. Bake 40 minutes until soft and skin has started to wrinkle. Remove from oven, and let cool. Sautee onions and garlic with "one shake" of red pepper, transfer to blender or food processor, blend. Scoop out cooked eggplant, add to blender and puree. Mix in lime juice, salt, and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Stir in parsley.


We really like the flavor of the lime juice over the lemon, and leaving out the olive oil makes this almost fat free. This batch was much tastier.

Eggplant Spread

This is a recipe adapted from The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook by Cybele Pascal. I left out a lot of the olive oil and the pomegranate seeds, but used more garlic and a little more onion.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 large eggplant or one small
• 1/4 sauteed onion
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut eggplant in half and place on greased cookie sheet, cut side down. Bake 45 minutes until soft and skin has started to wrinkle. Remove from oven, and let cool. In blender or food processor, combine minced garlic and onion and blend. Scoop out cooked eggplant, add to blender and puree. Mix in lemon juice, salt, and pepper and transfer to a bowl. Stir in olive oil and parsley.

Can be served with chips, crackers or on a sandwich. I'm thinking about making some flat bread to go with this, and about using cilantro instead of parsley.