Eggplant Dip

             
           When I was a kid, I remember my mom used to grill a lot of vegetables outdoors on our barbecue.  One of the things she made was again a Romanian dish. (Bet you can't guess why?) It was a roasted eggplant dip.  I call it a dip but we mostly used it as a spread.  It was something we usually ate in the summer because that was when eggplant was in season.  So when summer comes around it is always something I am itching to eat.
       
Ingredients

1. 2 eggplants
2. 3 Tbl of sour cream
3. 1 Tbl of lemon juice
4. 1 tsp of salt
5. 1/4 tsp of pepper
6.  3 Tbl oil plus some to rub on eggplant while roasting (I use canola)

I am going to give instructions on how to cook the eggplant in the oven first, since that is what I did today.

Preheat your oven to 450F.
First, rub the eggplants with some oil and cover them with foil in a baking dish.

It will take about an hour for them to roast.  I usually turn them over halfway into the cooking.  Be careful of splattering oil.  When you turn them, you will notice that the side that was down looks flattened.  That's because the eggplant "meat" inside has softened.  Let them go back in the oven after turning.  They are done when the eggplant looks collapsed.

Take them out of the oven and keep them covered while they are cooling.  This will allow for easier peeling off of the skin.
Place your eggplant, sour cream, lemon juice (the lemon juice keeps the eggplant from turning brown), salt, and pepper.

Then turn your food processor on and let it go until the eggplant looks creamy.
 You can now taste if extra salt may be needed for your taste.  One tsp of salt worked good for me.  Now turn the processor on again and drizzle in the oil.  Let it go for about 20 seconds and you should be all set.  The end product should be completely smooth with no chunks.

Normally I spread it on a piece of bread and top it with tomatoes.  You can also add onions as a topping.

If you use it as a dip, toasted pita bread works great.
Hope you'll try it!

Note: If you grill the eggplant, you will need to turn it when the underside starts to bubble and turn crisp.  Remember if the inside is not soft the skin will not peel easily, and the eggplant won't be the right consistency for processing.  Please let the eggplant cool before you attempt to peel it.