Baba Ganoush AKA eggplant 'caviar'
Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 20:12 We’re having some friends over for dinner tomorrow evening, and I just wanted to get a bit of a start on a couple appetizers. Hmmmm. What to serve? That’s when I happened to see some most excellent eggplant in the produce aisle. Hmmm. Then there were the roasted red bell peppers, and I had some of those little tomatoes at home which I could quickly roast. Hmmmm.
Gadzooks, I think I’ve got it.
Eggplant caviar, perhaps better known as Baba Ganoush, is one of the easiest - and healthiest - dips or spreads on the planet. If you’re trying to watch the calories, and load up on yummy veggies at the same time, this is something to try. The sweet part of eggplant caviar is that you can use it in other recipes (so make plenty and don’t put it all out at the party), and you’ll fool those who really think they don’t like eggplant. Just say ‘veggie dip’ and quickly move on.
Eggplant caviar pairs well with Raincoast Crisps whole grain crackers
Baba ghanoush, baba ganush, baba ghannouj or baba ghannoug[1] (Arabic بابا غنوج bābā ġanūj) is an Arab dish of aubergine (eggplant) mashed and mixed with various seasonings. A popular preparation method is for the eggplant to be baked or broiled over an open flame before peeling, so that the pulp is soft and has a smoky taste.[2] Often, it is eaten as a dip with khubz or pita bread, and is sometimes added to other dishes. It is usually of an earthy light-brown color. It is popular in the Levant and Egypt.[1]
This spread can be made so many ways that it’s almost infinitely versatile, so you can really use what you have on hand - as long as it involves a baked/roasted/grilled eggplant. Feel free to experiment with all the wonderful eggplant varieties that are now available in markets - from the little Thai globes, to the long Japanese kind. I simply picked a nice shiny, big Italian eggplant since those were the best price.
Depending on what you choose to put in your Baba Ganoush, it will be different colors - from a light tan to dark red or even … well, eggplant colored like mine. There is only one rule. It should taste heavenly!
When I got home from the market, even before I unpacked all the groceries, I pulled out the eggplant, rinsed it off and cut it in half lengthwise. Turning the oven to 300 degrees, I got out a cookie sheet and spread a few tablespoons of olive oil on it, then put the halves of eggplant cut side down. Into the oven it went for about 30 minutes.
No fuss. No muss. Fast. Badda bing!
After removing it from the oven, I put it aside to cool before scraping out the wonderfully creamy flesh with a large spoon. That went into the food processor. To that I added about six or seven large slices of roasted red bell pepper, and about six roasted small/mini tomatoes.
This is where you can get creative, but first let me talk for just a bit about fresh herbs.
Keep your fresh herbs in a separate covered bin with a damp paper towel in the bottom.
I cook with fresh herbs. A lot of them. I have them in my fridge all the time in a simple box. At any given time, I’ll have flat leaf Italian parsley, thyme, sage, oregano and rosemary. They keep very well, loosely packed. Just change the damp toweling every few days, and pick out the sad looking ones.
Cooking with fresh herbs will get you thinking more freshly about your food, and will ramp up the flavor immensely. You should always have plenty of garlic, onions, shallots and a couple of leeks on hand. The Meyer Lemons from Costco at this time of year easily make yummy ‘preserved lemons’.
You should also have olives and roasted red bell peppers on hand, in addition to fresh lemons.
In this version of Baba Ganoush, I pulled out the herb box, garlic, shallots, some olives (I actually used some pitted Nicoise, since I had those longest ) and the juice of one whole fresh Meyer Lemon. Traditionally, Baba Ganoush has Tahini in it, but I was out. Oh, well. Press on.
I minced up some parsley stems with a few leaves (again, enough leaves will change the color of what you’re making so use some thought about that ), a bit of thyme, several cloves of fresh garlic, a couple bulbs of shallot, and then reached for a Turkish spice blend from Penzey’s. That gave me the flavor notes I was after. Hmmm. Then a couple pinches of sea salt and drizzle about three to four tablespoons of olive oil in there. Lid on. Hit the Pulse button.
I can confidently say Baba Ganoush rates High on the Yum-O-Meter.
Depending on my mood, I could’ve put fava beans or chickpeas in it, more or less of either the tomatoes or peppers. Sometimes, I’ll take the rinds of the preserved lemons and mince that up into the Baba Ganoush. Artichokes hearts are another possibility - and they pair very nicely with the preserved lemon.
You can be so creative with Baba Ganoush, that even if you are the novice of all novice cooks, you can’t mess it up. It’ll just be yours. I’m not going to provide measurements, since that’s just not the way to cook, generally speaking. It’s more important in baking, but cooks rarely measure.
As I mentioned, the Baba Ganoush is versatile. Later, for dinner, I wanted to poach some eggs in a tomato-ey base, and serve that with some fried Irish bacon and whole grain bread. So I simply roasted a few more tomatoes, added a generous amount of the Baba Ganoush and some tomato paste, and a splash of white wine to my pan - dropped in the eggs and put a lid on it for about 15 minutes over medium low heat. Serve the lean Irish bacon on the whole grain bread with a couple pickle slices, and the poached/shirred ( also known as baked eggs, or in French, œufs en cocotte ) eggs nestled in Baba Ganoush/roasted tomato sauce on the side. Fresh fruit and wine, please.
Baba Ganoush shirred eggs rate HIGH on the Yum-O-Meter.
The Baba Ganoush could easily evolve into a wonderful soup. The possibilities are endless, and it’s so tasty, satisfying and healthy that you will probably find a few more ways to use it.
Enjoy.
-maven
