Roasted Red Pepper Spread

My friend Christine served this spread at her son’s birthday party and I could not get enough of it. She served it as a dip with veggie sticks. I decided on a whim to try it in place of tomato sauce on pizza and it was amazing! You could serve it as a dip with crackers or pita bread. I also think it would be divine served over hot pasta with some grated parmesan. You must try this recipe! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. My hubby says that it makes the best pizza he has ever had. And I can’t think of a tastier way to sneak some more veggies into a meal. (*Bonus- this is a really inexpensive thing to make. I always find fresher veggies at the wet market than the grocery store. I made this last week and I bought three red bell peppers for 10 quai from my vegetable lady)

Ingredients:
1 medium eggplant
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2-4 tbsp water


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.
Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread on a baking sheet.

Slow roast for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the vegetables are soft, tossing several times while cooking. Cool slightly.

 Place the vegetables in a food processor or blender add the tomato paste and water and blend. Adjust seasonings as needed.

When we do pizza, I pile on the veggies. My boys love green peppers, black olives, tomatoes and onions. Sometimes I make it vegetarian pizza. Sometimes I sprinkle a little bacon or diced ham on it. Dee-licious!