Place the eggplant pieces in a colander and sprinkle with salt, tossing the pieces to make sure they are evenly coated. Allow the eggplant to stand at room temperature for 30-45 minutes, until beads of liquid form on the surface. Rinse the eggplant thoroughly and pat dry.
To roast the garlic:
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Cut the top off the head of garlic. Now see the papery skin around all those cloves. Carefully peel away the papery skin around the cloves without separating or peeling the individual cloves of garlic. Rub some olive oil on the top of the cut cloves, or spray on some olive oil cooking spray if you’re on a lower fat diet. Wrap the head in aluminum foil and place it on your oven rack. Roast for 25-30 minutes.
To roast the eggplant:
Spread the eggplant cubes onto a large baking sheet and drizzle on some olive oil (again, you can spray with cooking spray instead of using oil you're on a lower fat diet), tossing to combine. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and let the eggplant roast for 10 minutes. Take the eggplant out and stir it with a spatula or wooden spoon, then return it to the oven. Roast for 10-20 minutes longer, until the eggplant is tender and some of the pieces are caramelized.
To caramelize the onions:
Heat a large greased skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and starting to brown. Add the veggie broth and cook, stirring rarely, until the onions are brown and caramelized. Stir in salt and pepper.
To bring it all together:
Add the onions and eggplant to a food processor, along with as many garlic cloves as you'd like. I used five, but I like things garlicky so you might want to start with 3 and blend them in one at a time, tasting as you go of course, until you're happy with the level of garlic. Stop blending when the mixture is chunky for a more textured dip, otherwise blend until smooth. Serve with your favorite dippable (hint hint cheese crisps) and devour!
Notes
*I leave the peel on because I like the texture it lends to the dip, plus peeling takes away most of the nutrients. However, if you don’t like the taste of eggplant skin, absolutely feel free to peel it.
**This is a nice step because it removes any bitterness from the eggplant, which improves the overall taste of the dip. If you’re crunched for time, I can tell you that I’ve skipped this step on a few occasions and haven’t noticed that much of a difference. So it’s up to you!
***Really any creamy ingredient will do here. I had some leftover cream cheese from making my cheesecake, so I used that. I also love using avocado as a cream cheese sub, like I did in my spinach bake. A vegan dairy sub, such as dairy free cream cheese or sour cream, would also work beautifully in this. Just use whatever you have on hand!