Eggplant paste / Pasta de berenjenas

As I sat down to write this simple recipe, I first decided to look up the name of this strange vegetable since it goes by so many names around the world. Turns out, the eggplant is also called aubergine, melongene, garden egg, guinea squash and brinjal. Not to mention a colloquial name on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa, which I would rather not mention here. It's quite fitting that this vegetable has such a wide variety of names, as it is so very versatile. For today's recipe, we will be making eggplant paste.
To start with, you will need to cook the eggplants and here I've taken the easy way out and used my microwave. Take the eggplants (in my case three), punch a few holes in the veggies with a fork, place in a microwaveable dish with about two centimeters of water and cook for anything between 10 to 15 minutes.
Once soft, allow to cool. Cut open and scrape out the flesh and leave the skin. Place the contents on a container and add 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic, salt and course black pepper to taste and blend, using a hand-held blender. Add a little olive oil to help obtain a smooth paste.
Serve cold or at room temperature with bread. Works very well as part of a picada or tapas.
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