Traditional Russian holiday tables always feature the same cast of characters. Without fail, these include Salat Olivier (a mayo-dressed potato salad), red caviar (salmon roe), and this roasted eggplant spread - known in Russian as eggplant ikra (pronounced eek-rah). Ikra is the Russian word for caviar and according to the interwebs, this spread used to be known as "poor man's caviar". I don't really buy this story since caviar was pretty affordable in the Soviet Union - if you could find it, that is - and all men were poor. But hey, who am I to rewrite . . .