Eggplant Pecan Paté

After the farmer's market trip yesterday I still needed an eggplant for my Polenta Vegetable Bake. I stopped in the local produce market and she only had some eggplants that were beginning to look a little tired so she gave them to me for free. I took three of them. One I used in the Polenta bake, the other two I roasted this morning and made eggplant paté. This is a Dr. Weil recipe from Eating Well for Optimum Health. I've made it a few times. It's easy, quick, and very good. It can be eaten with other vegetables like a dip, on crackers, toast, or by itself. I like to break off pieces of the red cabbage bowl and use them as a scoop. Pretty tasty and contains some good fiber and protein from the eggplant and the Pecans. And of course, no cholesterol as it is plant based. The recipe is really named "Eggplant Walnut Pate" but I have a foodie, kitchen witch, friend who is allergic to walnuts and if she happens to stop by, I would like to be able to share some with her.

Egg Plant-Walnut Paté (I use Pecans)
1 large eggplant
1 cup walnut or pecan pieces
2 tsp fresh ginger root, peeled, grated, and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed
1 TB extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp ground allspice
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot pepper sauce to taste (I have used red pepper flakes, about 1/8 tsp.)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the eggplant with a fork in several places and bake until very soft, about 45 minutes.
2. While eggplant is baking, grind the nuts in a food processor until very fine, and set aside.
3. Remove the eggplant from oven, slash to let steam escape, drain off any liquid and scrape the pulp into a food processor with the ginger, garlic, and olive oil. Process until smooth.
4. Add ground nuts and process until smooth.
5. Flavor the mixture with the allspice, salt, and drops of hot pepper sauce to taste. Chill.

Eggplant Pecan Paté

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