How to Make Roasted Eggplant Pesto

Fresh pesto is a wonderful accompaniment to pasta dishes as well as a savory topping for crusty bread, rolls and crackers. Here's a version that uses roasted eggplant along with the fresh basil and garlic. It is easily doubled for a crowd. Just roast or boil two eggplants and process one batch at a time in a food processor.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 medium eggplant, ends trimmed
• 2 tsp. fresh minced garlic (from jar)
• 2/3 cup walnuts
• 18 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut ends off eggplant and then cut four slits in top. Carefully spoon about 1/2 tsp minced garlic into each slit. Put in baking dish that has been sprayed with Pam. Rub top of eggplant with olive oil. Roast uncovered for one hour. Remove, let cool and slice into pieces.

3. Add the eggplant, walnuts, basil, olive oil and Parmesan into food processor, making sure to add the bits of garlic that have been baked with it. Pulse until pureed. Add pepper and salt. Check mixture and add a little more olive oil if it seems too dry.

4. Turn pesto into small serving dish, and serve with crostini, French bread or as a topping for pasta.

Tips & Warnings

• The roasted eggplant gives a smoky flavor to the dish. If you’d rather boil the eggplant on the stove, cut up 1 medium eggplant and place in boiling salted water. Cover, turn heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes, until soft when pierced with a fork. Then follow the rest of the recipe, adding 2 to 3 tsp minced garlic when pureeing rest of ingredients.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• How to Lose 30+lbs Guaranteed. Try it Free.