Roasted Eggplant Spread #Recipe AND New Cover Sneak Peek

I am just finishing up the third book of my Ocean City Boardwalk Series, WILD HEARTS OF SUMMER. If you are reading the series, you know that Cathy Whitley is the owner of The Sunshine Café. She loves to cook, and I have been adding recipes to the end of each story in the series. Here is one of the recipes I’ll be using in the book.

If you'd like a sneak peek at the book's cover, slide down to the bottom of the post.  Look for WILD HEARTS OF SUMMER on February 21st!

Roasted Eggplant Spread

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/4" rounds

2 cups onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Sea salt + ground pepper

Crusty Bread or Pita for serving

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425° F.

2. Arrange eggplant rounds on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes, turning once or twice until eggplant is softened and golden brown. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

3. While eggplant is roasting, heat a large skillet over medium low heat and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add onion and stir often until caramelized. This will take about 20 minutes. Don’t rush it. The caramelizing process brings out the sweetness of the onions. Add minced garlic to the onions during the last 8 minutes of cooking so it doesn’t burn. Set aside onion/garlic mixture.

4. Peel the eggplant and discard the skin. (I use a spoon to scrap the eggplant away from the skin.) Add the flesh of the eggplant to the bowl of your food processor. Add onion-garlic mixture, holding back 1 tablespoon. Process until ingredients are pulverized and of a spreading consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place spread in a serving bowl. Just before serving, drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and place the remaining onion-garlic mixture on top. Decorate with a sprig of basil or parsley (optional).

5. Serve immediately with pita, toasted baguette, or assorted veggies. Best when eaten fresh, but will keep in the fridge covered for a couple days.

Here's a sneak peek at the cover of WILD HEARTS OF SUMMER! What do you think? This is book 3 of my Ocean City Boardwalk Series; however, it's also part of The Inheritance Series. Very cool, huh?