Khamisa's Sudanese Eggplant Salad (Salata Aswad)

Last year, my friend Khamisa and my students had a cooking exchange; she taught them how to make this salad and they taught her how to make pizza. It has quickly become a staple in our house and it makes for a great fall CSA recipe to use your peppers and eggplant. Khamisa's recipe uses a lot of garlic with delicious results! I have made it using only one head of garlic and it turned out fine but less piquant than the original.

Khamisa's Sudanese Eggplant Salad (Salata Aswad)

3-4 eggplants, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 lg onion, chopped
2-3 red bell peppers, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 T olive oil
2 small cans of tomato paste
2 heads of garlic, peeled; then chopped in food processor
2 T cumin
1/2 - 1 t cayenne pepper or peri peri (optional)

1 T smoked paprika (optional)
1 1/2 cups natural, creamy peanut butter
2 t salt
1 t pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Roast eggplant, onion, and bell peppers in the oven for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and continue to cook for about 15 minutes or until eggplant can be mashed easily with a potato masher. Remove from heat and mash vegetables or use an immersion blender; set aside.

In a Dutch oven, cook garlic and tomato paste over medium heat, stirring frequently until tomato paste turns a deep red color. Add cumin and cayenne pepper and paprika (if using) and sauté until fragrant, about a minute. Add eggplant mixture and continue to stir until well incorporated. Stir in peanut butter, salt, and pepper.

Serve with bread. I usually eat it with naan or tortillas because they are easy to find; more traditional, but less available in Nebraska groceries, are keesra or injeera.