Russian Eggplant Spread

Russian Eggplant Spread (Also known as "Ikra," Poor Man's Caviar)

1 eggplant, (about 1 pound)
1 green pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/8 tablespoon pepper
cocktail rye or black bread
1/4 cup tomato paste

Pierce eggplant 3 or 4 times with fork. Wrap green pepper in foil. Place eggplant and green pepper in shallow baking dish. Bake at 400F until eggplant is very soft, about 35 minutes. Cool.

Remove skin from eggplant and seeds from green pepper. Chop eggplant and green pepper. Sauté onion and garlic in water in 10-inch skillet over medium heat until onion is tender. Stir in eggplant, green pepper and remaining ingredients except bread. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Place mixture in blender container. Cover and blend on high speed, stopping blender occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth, about 1 minute. Cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours. Serve with bread.



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