Smoky eggplant dip

This is another throwback from college, when all I had access to was my janky old blender and my roommate's George Foreman grill. Alison really loved all things eggplant, brought on by a summer spent in Sicily, eating her weight in pasta alla norma (eggplant and pasta in a marinara sauce). I remember kind of hating this, because I always associated eggplant with a soggy nightmare food. This, I will concede many years later, is probably not a fair assessment. 

As with anything, it's all in the method of preparation. So, in an attempt to get over my aversion to eggplant (and to please my roommate) I searched Food Network for a recipe I thought I could stomach. One that would help me learn to be civil to eggplant, if not be best friends with it. This "smoky eggplant dip" from Bobby Flay was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

It doesn't look like much, but trust me. It's so, so delicious.

Bobby recommends that you grill the eggplant on a real grill, but I've grilled it on the George Foreman and roasted it in the oven at 400F before, both methods yielding excellent results. I used two big eggplants, selected because they were firm to the touch and they felt heavier than comparably sized eggplants. Like, the eggplant should be weighty in your hands. I sliced them into strips of a similar thickness, but if you're roasting them, just cut them in half.

On the grill and cut into one- to two-inch thick slices, they only needed to cook for about six or seven minutes. In the oven, I think you'd probably shoot for 15-20 minutes? Just check it every five minutes or so. When the eggplant is soft to the touch and juicy, they're ready.

While the eggplants grilled, I prepared the rest of the ingredients and placed them in a food processor. Cilantro, garlic, cumin, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are what make this eggplant dip so good.

 As with any spice or pepper that adds heat, your mileage may vary. I like to add three chipotle peppers to the dip, but I think one chipotle pepper is probably what makes for a more crowd-pleasing dip.

When the eggplant was done, I placed about half of it in the processor, processed it, and then added the rest of the eggplant to the mixture and processed it again.

What you get for your trouble is totally worth it. My dad assumed it was a bean dip, because the texture is transformed when you blend it with a little oil. The smoky, southwest flavors also give the impression that this is a bean dip. This is a pretty healthy dish, needing only a little oil to smooth it out.

I like eating it with tortilla chips and I definitely prefer it to traditional bean dip. It's lighter and you don't feel guilty for eating a lot of it. Well, so I'm told. I don't believe in feeling guilt over enjoying your food, whatever it is. :-) Try it out, y'all!


Chipotle eggplant dip
(makes a lot of dip--I didn't measure, but it would be enough for at least 6-8 people to eat as an appetizer)
light adapted from Bobby Flay

Ingredients

2 large eggplants, roasted or grilled

1-3 three chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup?)
2 tbsp lemon juice or red wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil (I used extra-virgin)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Grill or roast eggplants until soft and juicy (see above post for preparation suggestions). While they cook, place the next five ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender.* When the eggplants are cooked and cool enough to touch, scoop out the flesh and place in the food processor. I suppose you could leave the skin on, but that would really affect the texture.

Process the eggplant and other ingredients together, slowly adding the oil in. Add salt and pepper to taste and blend together.

Serve warm or at room temperature with tortilla chips.

*I think you could make this with just a handheld mixer, if you minced the garlic, chopped up the cilantro really finely, and mixed everything together before adding the eggplant and oil.