‘Plantation Eggplant’ Pizza Chips with Capers

You will also need:

1. 1 or 2 baking sheets that are large enough to hold the 24 triangles of pita in one layer or 2 large pizza pans. Pizza pans with open-holed bottoms are especially good for crisping the chips, but any pans will be fine.
2. A pizza cutter does a good job of slicing the pita into triangles but it isn’t essential.
3. A mixing bowl.
4. A medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pan.

For the ‘Plantation Eggplant’ spread:

This recipe makes about 1 cup of spread. Any extra spread freezes well in a glass jar.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the eggplant lengthwise in half. Rub a little olive oil over the cut sides. Place the two halves, skin side down, on a baking sheet and roast them until the flesh is tender, about 25-30 minutes. When the eggplant is done, a knife should be able to pierce down through the flesh with no resistance. Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit.
2. When the eggplant is cool enough to pick up, peel off the skin. Chop up the flesh and put it in a bowl.
3. Heat the 1/8 cup of oil in the medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pan. Add the chopped red onion or shallot and the garlic and cook, stirring, until they soften.
4. Add the chopped, roasted eggplant, the finely chopped tomato, the lemon juice and the cayenne and cook them all over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens. Then remove the pan from the heat and cool the eggplant spread before using it to make the Pizza Chips.

For the Pizza Chips: The chips are best when made just before they are served. To put them together and bake them will take no more than 10 minutes.

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
2. Spread each round of pita with 3 tablespoons of eggplant spread.
3. Sprinkle each round with 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan and 1 tablespoon of capers.
4. Cut each pita into 8 wedges.
5. Arrange the wedges in a single layer on the baking sheets or pizza pans and bake them for 5 minutes. Serve at once—perhaps garnished with green chili starbursts.

How to make green chili starbursts: Instructional photos for making the starbursts are included with the recipe on the related blog link at diplomatickitchen.com.

1. Cut each chili in half lengthwise from the top of the chili (near the point where it joins the stem) down through its tip but leave the stem intact so that it holds the two halves together.
2. Remove the pith and seeds. This is easily done under running water.
3. Cut each half into ribbons/strips but don’t cut all the way through the stem (again, the stem holds all of the ‘ribbons’ together). Begin each cut at the top of the chili (near the join with the stem) and, for each ribbon, cut all the way down and through the tip.
4. Separate the ribbons with your fingers and arrange the starbursts on the serving plate with the Pizza Chips.

An acknowledgement: The eggplant spread is an adaptation from the recipe for ‘Plantation Eggplant Dip’ in Party Receipts from the Charleston Junior League (1993).