Baba Ganoush

photo credit: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/babaganoush-recipe/index.html

This turned out so well and it was the first I've made it ever or in a LONG while, so I wanted to encourage those of you out there that like lebanese or middle eastern food to give it a try. I've been trying my best to eat foods that are in season, and since eggplant is still a good deal in the market, I decided to try my hand at this. I was pretty sure it would be a disaster, but as it turned out well and was really easy, I thought I'd share the recipe. I'd love to hear from all of you what you do for lunch after church. In the past I have eaten out, but I don't like that because I wouldn't want one of my christian friends to have to be cooking my meal on his sabbath, so I prefer to find cook-ahead recipes, or things I can pull together with minimal fuss. This rich dip is good served with pita, or just whole-wheat bread, carrot and cucumber sticks, and we added some qoftas from the store (yeah, I felt bad about that one, but they did help round the meal out a little). Plus, it was a hit with the kids (1 and 3), surprisingly. The garlic and the fact that the base of this dish is eggplant didn't seem to phase them a bit!! Daniel (3) did mention that it is "spicy", but he kept eating. ;)

For the recipe, I used:

5 small (6 inch long) eggplants, pierced all over with a knife
1 small head of garlic
1/2 tsp salt
juice of one lemon (actually a little less as I had already used some of this lemon on aloo gobi I made the other day)
3 Tablespoons tahini paste (I made this myself some time back- super easy. Blend up a some toasted sesame seeds with a bit of vegetable oil - keeps in the fridge forever. I'll never buy it again.)

I baked the eggplants on the wire rack in the middle of the oven at 200 degrees celsius, or 400 degrees F for about 40 minutes - or until sort of charred and dark on the outside but squishy when touched (to be sure it's all cooked well on the inside). While the eggplants were baking, I peeled the garlic and threw them in the blender, along with the tahini, salt and lemon. Then when the eggplant was cooked, I cooled and then opened them to scoop out the flesh and added that to the blender. I blended it all till it was a paste. This can be put on a plate and served with a bit of olive oil and some sprinkles of paprika to make it pretty. This is something that can be made a couple of days before as the taste gets better over time - up to 5 days I read somewhere.

Don't forget to give me an idea or two of how you make Sunday lunch less work. By the way, next week I plan to do hummus.