REC: Roasted Red Pepper Spread



A

Ariane Jenkins

Guest
My mother, who usually doesn't like fooling around with cooking much, is new fan of the Barefoot
Contessa show, and borrowed one of her cookbooks from the library. She made this roasted red pepper
spread, and now it's one of her favorites. I've gotten rather hooked on it too, and have been eating
it with tortilla chips-- mainly because it's a little more dignified than eating it with a spoon. ;)

Ariane

Roasted Red Pepper Spread The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten

1 medium eggplant, peeled 2 red bell peppers, seeded 1 red onion, peeled 2 garlic cloves, minced 3
tablespoons good olive oil
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
12/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon tomato paste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the
garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the
vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly.

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and pulse
3 or 4 times to blend.

Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve with toasted pita triangles or crackers.

Notes: Amounts are, of course, variable. I used more garlic and more olive oil, and probably a
little less salt. It made about 3 cups or so.
 
Ariane Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote:

> Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and
> pulse 3 or 4 times to blend.

Any ideas on what to use other than tomato paste? It's a no-no in the house (man, I miss 'em). It
sounds great tho!!

And hey there...I'm still around. Miss our common posts :)
--
"In Finnegans Wake, he just made up words. Now that's just not sporting!" ..A friend on James Joyce
 
Elana Kehoe wrote:

> Any ideas on what to use other than tomato paste? It's a no-no in the house (man, I miss 'em). It
> sounds great tho!!

What is tomato paste? Concentrated tomato pulp? TIA Vilco
 
Vilco [out] <[email protected]> wrote:

> Elana Kehoe wrote:
>
> > Any ideas on what to use other than tomato paste? It's a no-no in the house (man, I miss 'em).
> > It sounds great tho!!
>
> What is tomato paste? Concentrated tomato pulp?

Tomato puree, as it's called in the UK and Ireland.
--
"In Finnegans Wake, he just made up words. Now that's just not sporting!" ..A friend on James Joyce
 
On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 09:00:58 +0000, Elana Kehoe <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Any ideas on what to use other than tomato paste? It's a no-no in the house (man, I miss 'em). It
> sounds great tho!!

Hmmm. Well, it's a relatively small amount, so I'd leave it out and see how you felt about
the taste. You could always increase the amounts of other things to balance out the flavor.
I'm usually in favor of more garlic. ;D Seems spices like a bit of ground roasted cumin,
cayenne or ground chipotle would not go amiss, either.

> And hey there...I'm still around. Miss our common posts :)

Heh, glad to see you're still around, too! I've been a bit quiet on MCFL lately, seems like
the noise ratio has gone up over there and I don't have much to say at the moment.

Ariane
 
On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 11:17:13 +0100, Vilco [out] <[email protected]> wrote:

> What is tomato paste? Concentrated tomato pulp? TIA

In the context of this recipe, basically yes. It comes in a 6 oz. can here, dark red, thick,
sort of the consistency of canned pumpkin, if that helps. I've seen it in tubes, too.

Ariane
 
Ariane Jenkins <[email protected]> wrote:

> On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 09:00:58 +0000, Elana Kehoe <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > Any ideas on what to use other than tomato paste? It's a no-no in the house (man, I miss 'em).
> > It sounds great tho!!
>
> Hmmm. Well, it's a relatively small amount, so I'd leave it out and see how you felt about
> the taste. You could always increase the amounts of other things to balance out the flavor.
> I'm usually in favor of more garlic. ;D Seems spices like a bit of ground roasted cumin,
> cayenne or ground chipotle would not go amiss, either.

Oooo...sounds nice. I'll give it a go once things have settled down here.

> > And hey there...I'm still around. Miss our common posts :)
>
> Heh, glad to see you're still around, too! I've been a bit quiet on MCFL lately, seems like
> the noise ratio has gone up over there and I don't have much to say at the moment.

I lurk a lot lately. Not much for me on MCFL, since it seems like the new crop of posters are coming
in and getting all the old questions out fo their system. I miss Pat tho :).
--
"In Finnegans Wake, he just made up words. Now that's just not sporting!" ..A friend on James Joyce
 
On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 19:46:45 +0000, Elana Kehoe <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Oooo...sounds nice. I'll give it a go once things have settled down here.

I'm slightly embarrassed to say I made the spread last night and have already put a dent
into my stash. Luckily, I have another eggplant and more bell peppers on hand, because I
anticipated such a dilemma. :)

> I lurk a lot lately. Not much for me on MCFL, since it seems like the new crop of posters are
> coming in and getting all the old questions out fo their system. I miss Pat tho :).

Yeah, so do I. Drop her an e-mail, though, I'm sure she'd love to hear from you! I've been
meaning to e-mail her myself, just to say hi and see how she's doing.

Ariane
 
On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 20:56:32 GMT, Ariane Jenkins
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 19:46:45 +0000, Elana Kehoe <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> Oooo...sounds nice. I'll give it a go once things have settled down here.
>
> I'm slightly embarrassed to say I made the spread last night and have already put a dent
> into my stash. Luckily, I have another eggplant and more bell peppers on hand, because I
> anticipated such a dilemma. :)

Hmm..I will have to make this as soon as I can get into my new apartment. I move in on Friday, and I
am having people over for dinner soon after. Sounds like a wonderful appetizer before a meal.

Christine
 
I hate to say this, because my grandmother made something very similar, more eggplant than peppers,
but otherwise, virtually the same (sans tomato paste), and it was a family favorite...and I made it
often, but it was a bit of work. (Not a lot of work, just a bit)..... And it makes SO much, that I
didn't make it very often, and only for company. But ever since I discovered Trader Joes has a
roasted red pepper and eggplant spread in a jar, about 8 ounces for a buck and a half, I just buy it
from TJ's and it's always in the house and its an amount I can handle!!!!

I'm sure my grandma is rolling over in her grave at the very thought of her granddaughter eating
eggplant spread from a jar, but...sorry Gram! It's very good and easy, too!

Sheryl

in article [email protected], Ariane Jenkins at [email protected] wrote
on 2/24/04 11:12 PM:

>
>
> My mother, who usually doesn't like fooling around with cooking much, is new fan of the Barefoot
> Contessa show, and borrowed one of her cookbooks from the library. She made this roasted red
> pepper spread, and now it's one of her favorites. I've gotten rather hooked on it too, and have
> been eating it with tortilla chips-- mainly because it's a little more dignified than eating it
> with a spoon. ;)
>
>
> Ariane
>
> Roasted Red Pepper Spread The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten
>
> 1 medium eggplant, peeled 2 red bell peppers, seeded 1 red onion, peeled 2 garlic cloves, minced 3
> tablespoons good olive oil
> 11/2 teaspoons kosher salt
> 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon tomato paste
>
> Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
>
> Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the
> garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until
> the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking. Cool slightly.
>
> Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, and
> pulse 3 or 4 times to blend.
>
> Taste for salt and pepper.
>
> Serve with toasted pita triangles or crackers.
>
> Notes: Amounts are, of course, variable. I used more garlic and more olive oil, and probably a
> little less salt. It made about 3 cups or so.
 
On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 00:15:45 GMT, Sheryl Rosen <[email protected]> wrote:
> I hate to say this, because my grandmother made something very similar, more eggplant than
> peppers, but otherwise, virtually the same (sans tomato paste), and it was a family favorite...and
> I made it often, but it was a bit of work. (Not a lot of work, just a bit)..... And it makes SO
> much, that I didn't make it very often, and only for company. But ever since I discovered Trader
> Joes has a roasted red pepper and eggplant spread in a jar, about 8 ounces for a buck and a half,
> I just buy it from TJ's and it's always in the house and its an amount I can handle!!!!
>
> I'm sure my grandma is rolling over in her grave at the very thought of her granddaughter eating
> eggplant spread from a jar, but...sorry Gram! It's very good and easy, too!

I'll have to look for it the next time I'm at TJ's. Meanwhile, this recipe was pretty easy.
Hardest part was cutting up the vegetables, and I don't mind that since it doesn't take long.
8 oz. would probably go pretty fast in this house, so the larger batch is nice, too.

Ariane
 
il Wed, 25 Feb 2004 12:23:39 +0000, [email protected] (Elana Kehoe) ha
scritto:

> Vilco [out] <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Elana Kehoe wrote:
> >
> > > Any ideas on what to use other than tomato paste? It's a no-no in the house (man, I miss 'em).
> > > It sounds great tho!!
> >
> > What is tomato paste? Concentrated tomato pulp?
>
> Tomato puree, as it's called in the UK and Ireland.

But more concentrated.

--
Cheers, Loki [ Brevity is the soul of wit. W.Shakespeare ]
 
Loki <[email protected]> wrote:

> il Wed, 25 Feb 2004 12:23:39 +0000, [email protected] (Elana Kehoe) ha scritto:
>
> > Vilco [out] <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > Elana Kehoe wrote:
> > >
> > > > Any ideas on what to use other than tomato paste? It's a no-no in the house (man, I miss
> > > > 'em). It sounds great tho!!
> > >
> > > What is tomato paste? Concentrated tomato pulp?
> >
> > Tomato puree, as it's called in the UK and Ireland.
>
> But more concentrated.

I've always found it to be the same...oh, when I say tomato puree, I mean from a can!
--
"In Finnegans Wake, he just made up words. Now that's just not sporting!" ..A friend on James Joyce
 
Elana Kehoe wrote:

(bad! snipping, I'm sorry)

> > > Tomato puree, as it's called in the UK and Ireland.
> >
> > But more concentrated.
>
> I've always found it to be the same...oh, when I say tomato puree, I mean from a can!

In the US, tomato puree and tomato paste are *not* the same thing.

Tomato paste is much thicker. Not just pureed, but concentrated. Both, however, are
available in a can.

nancy
 
Nancy Young <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Elana Kehoe wrote:
>
> (bad! snipping, I'm sorry)
>
>> > > Tomato puree, as it's called in the UK and Ireland.
>> >
>> > But more concentrated.
>>
>> I've always found it to be the same...oh, when I say tomato puree, I mean from a can!
>
> In the US, tomato puree and tomato paste are *not* the same thing.
>
> Tomato paste is much thicker. Not just pureed, but concentrated. Both, however, are available
> in a can.
>
> nancy
>

In Canada Tomato purree will pour from a can and comes (in the smallest size) in around a 14 oz can.
And Tomato paste won't pour from the can...must be scraped from the can and comes only in about a 4
or 6 oz can. Can sizes are guessimates but should be fairly close.

Tomato purree is basically tomatoes that have been blenderized after seeding and skining. And tomato
paste has been concentrated a whole bunch and is way, way, way thicker. Perhaps tomato paste is made
by thickening tomato puree.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.
 
Nancy Young <[email protected]> wrote:

> Elana Kehoe wrote:
>
> (bad! snipping, I'm sorry)
>
> > > > Tomato puree, as it's called in the UK and Ireland.
> > >
> > > But more concentrated.
> >
> > I've always found it to be the same...oh, when I say tomato puree, I mean from a can!
>
> In the US, tomato puree and tomato paste are *not* the same thing.
>
> Tomato paste is much thicker. Not just pureed, but concentrated. Both, however, are available
> in a can.

The person who was asking was from Italy, so I called it what Europeans call it. Sorry for any
confusion.

Tomato puree, as US/Canada folk know it, is called passata here.
--
"In Finnegans Wake, he just made up words. Now that's just not sporting!" ..A friend on James Joyce