Growing up, this was one of my favorite dishes, and still is. My mom would usually make it in the summer to early fall months, when eggplants were in season. Simple to make, yet so full of flavor. Make it as an appetizer with crusty french bread for dipping or spreading, pita chips, or use as topping for chicken or steak. It can be adjusted to become a vegan dish if you omit the mayo. I use sunflower oil, but if you don’t have any on hand you can substitute your favorite oil instead, I recommend something mild in flavor , you want the eggplant to shine.
Smoky Eggplant Dip (makes approx. 2 cups)
- 3 medium to large eggplants (pick the ones that are darker with shiny skin)
- 1/4 cup finely diced onion
- 2 Tbsp Sunflower oil
- 1 Tsp Mayonnaise
- Salt to taste
Turn on your grill until hot. Pierce the eggplants 2-3 times with a fork in the thickest part. This will prevent them from exploding on the grill. When grill is very hot, place eggplants on it and close lid. Grill 15-20 mins on each side until charred and softened. This will give the dip the smoky flavor. Remove eggplants from grill and place in a colander to cool and drain.
While eggplant is cooling, place the finely chopped onions in a small bowl and add a few generous pinches of salt to it and rub with your fingers. This will release most of the juice from the onions and will prevent the dip from having strong onion flavor/spice. Leave onions in salt mixture until you finish cleaning the eggplant.
When eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove the skins with your fingers, rinsing your hands under water if necessary to clean char off. Place flesh in a bowl while removing skins from eggplant, we will then add them back to colander when peeled to finish the draining process which should take about 5 mins. Place eggplant into a medium bowl, squeeze the diced onions until most of the juice is out and they feel dry. Add them to the eggplant along with the sunflower oil, salt to taste ( start with 1 tsp and adjust from there depending on taste.) With handheld mixer turned to high, mix all the ingredients together until homogenized for approx. 2 mins. Taste and adjust salt as needed. Mix the mayonnaise into the dip, and chill it for at least one hour. The longer the dip sits in fridge, the more the flavor develops. Serve with bread, pita chips or fresh veggies. This also makes a great spread for sandwiches.
Serve with the marinated roasted peppers.
Enjoy and please let me know how you liked it!
What in the world is this? They are multiple tomato sprouts growing out of a discarded old tomato…from my garden compost bin. It doesn’t just stop at the tomato folks, there are peppers, zucchinis, pumpkins( if you dare), and basically anything that has seeds. And if you have a kitchen compost bin, then you’re in luck, because you can be a lazy gardener as well!!! And maybe even share your compost with your neighbors and family members so they can become lazy gardeners just like you and me!
Start by giving your rice a good rinse, about 3-4 times until water is somewhat clear. That’s to clean rice first of all and rinse some of the starch off. Drain water from the rice and place in a 4-5 QT pot. To the rice add the remaining ingredients in no particular order, and given them a good whisking.
Those chunks on top is the coconut meat that rises to the top of the coconut water when it’s inside the can. Don’t worry, it will all melt and blend beautifully by the end. Now is a good time to grab a spoon and tasted the milk to see if you would like it sweeter, more lemony etc…Set your pot on medium to low heat, again whisking briefly. Don’t go too far now, because milk does spilith over quite quickly. When the milk starts getting a little foamy, and the beginning of a low simmer is happening, turn your heat down to the LOWEST setting you have, I’m talking barely a flame in sight. Let this simmer, whisking occasionally for approx 60 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Rice pudding will thicken as it cools. Enjoy!
Add the rest of the sugar and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Gently place your petal mixture ( including the liquid it released) into the pot of boiling water and reduce to simmering. Let simmer 30-60 mins.
So today I’m working on a pair of mustard colored slippers. I love how this color looks with the grey. I crochet to unwind, the counting keeps my mind in the present.
