Every great culinary tradition seems to involve or contain a recipe made from roasted eggplants that are mashed or beaten into a rough paste with garlic and spices. As a rule of thumb, if you happen to notice the Russians, Indians, Greeks, Italians, Spanish, and Turks doing the same thing culinarily, it's probably a really good idea. And so, here is my interpretation of my very favorite variation of an eggplant tapenade. It's best served at room temperature on some nice crusty bread, and is even better if you make it a few hours (or a day) in advance, so that the flavors can really mingle.
I'm getting hungry already.
