The best roasted vegetable spread with eggplant, peppers and tomatoes. Perfect as a dip on the vegan appetizer platter, as a spread on little tea sandwiches, morning toast, bagels or as a smoky pasta sauce.
Rinse the eggplants and pierce them with a knife in a few spots. Roast them together with the bell peppers under the broiler flames (or on a large cast iron flat griddle) until charred on all sides. Flip them around a few times, then transfer to a bowl. Cover with a lid until cool enough to handle.
3 medium eggplants, 8 large red bell peppers
Peel the charred skins from the peppers, discard the seeds then core and chop up the flesh. (You can puree them in a food processor too using the pulse button a few times).
Scoop the flesh from inside the roasted eggplants and mix together with the roasted peppers. Set aside until needed.
Meanwhile in a heavy bottom pot saute the onion with a pinch of sea salt, pepper flakes and a splash of water (or a drizzle of olive oil) until translucent. Stir in the garlic cook 10 seconds until fragrant then and the tomatoes breaking them up with a flat wooden spoon.
1 large yellow onion, 6 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp red chili flakes, 1 pinch sea salt, 28 oz canned whole San Marzano tomatoes
Stir in the roasted pepper, eggplant, smoked paprika and bay leaves and bring to a simmer. Partially cover with a lid and cook down until most of the juices from the tomatoes have cooked down into a thick spread / sauce, about 35 minutes or so.
8 large red bell peppers, 3 medium eggplants, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 3 leaves bay
Add the chopped parsley and season to taste with more sea salt and extra pepper flakes. (At this point you can use a potato masher for a smoother consistency If you prefer, I like the rustic texture of the sauce.)
1/4 cup Italian parsley or basil
Refrigerate until chilled and serve as a spread on crust bread, or toss with whole wheat noodles or in a cold pasta salad. (Traditionally a very large batch of this recipe is prepared and canned for the winter).
Notes
note: If you insist on using olive oil in your spread, then just make sure to use a good quality cold pressed variety, sauce in just a drizzle and if desired add it at the very end after the sauce has been cooked for richness.