Salata de Vinete

Until I was in my teens, I didn't enjoy, or eat much, Romanian food. A lot has changed and now I figured out how to make the foods I used to hate! Salata de vinete (eggplant spread) is a classic recipe that I obsess over and like to make at least 2x a month. It's really easy and simple peasant food, and now that I am a peasant, it's really quite appropriate.

Need:

3 medium-large eggplants
1 medium onion (can leave out if you want)
3 cloves garlic (more or less, depends how garlicky you like things)
4 tablespoons olive oil


Make:

Place aluminum foil on a large pan and crank the oven up to 550 degrees. Take a fork and poke holes all over the eggplants. Pop 'em in the oven and wait for the eggplants to "collapse" - about 25-30 minutes or longer, depending on the eggplants. So finicky, these eggplants.

Take the eggplants out of the oven and peel the skins off the eggplants (and the tops), leaving the meating insides. Put the insides in a blender with the minced onions, minced garlic and olive oil and puree.

It'll still be really hot (and it's best cold) so put it in the fridge and enjoy...with bread or crackers....later!