Eggplant, Where Wert Thou?

Sometimes, a usually-ignored food will somehow meander its way into my grocery bag, wink-winking me toward all the appetizer recipes stuffed inside my quasi-organized recipe binder. I can rarely get excited about a main dish, for some odd reason - but find appetizers, side dishes, and desserts really quite enticing - perhaps they seem more flexible and feel like less commitment - two qualities I adore whenever they relates to tasks.

Main dish abhorrence aside, if you read my previous post (I'm not hinting) you know that I was wondering what to do with some very tasty ingredients. By the way, my husband, Tony, did read my previous post and was quite teary-eyed (from, ahem, laughing) over my "Story Developing" comment regarding the eggplant. Clearly, not everyone understands the bare-boned excitement that comes with a food combo unfolding before your very eyes. I felt like the Foodarazzi about to scoop a breaking, exclusive story with the most sought after eggplant-of-the-moment. Maybe not quite, but you know.

After some mucking around, I made a little something that tasted like a BIG something; and this will definitely be part of our regular rotation. Tony loved it, ahem. We inhaled it with veggies and tortilla chips. The recipe is a fusion of so many different things/dips I can't really source them - so I guess it's my own at this point. HOW did I NOT use eggplant before this?

Roasted Eggplant Dip

1.5 lbs. eggplant
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil, for bowl
1.5 T oil for saute
1 plum tomato (finely chopped, cored)
3 T red onion (or shallot)
2 T flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 t. red wine vinegar
2-3 fat garlic gloves, minced
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Pierce eggplant with a fork; put on foil on baking sheet. Place in 450 degree oven; cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until soft. Allow to cool; then, peel, stem, cut into chunks and puree.

Saute onion and 1.5 T oil for about 5 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent; lower heat and add garlic, being careful not to burn garlic (about 2-3 minutes).

Transfer eggplant puree to bowl. Add and stir in tomato, parsley, salt, pepper, vinegar, onion and garlic.