Friday, July 6, 2012

Baba Ganoush... Ghanoush... Ghanouj

What is up with the (at least) three different ways of spelling this dish that I came across online?  I always wanted to try a recipe for Baba Ganoush since I love Mediterranean food! I could live on things like this, hummus, falafal, pitas, etc.  I don't know what took me so long, but here it is!  

My main inspiration for this particular recipe came from Vegetarian Cooking for Dummies, but I changed it a bit after reading through other recipes online and decided, among other things, to add chickpeas.  Then came the thought of coming up with my own quirky name for the recipe like Baba Ganummus, or Baba Hunoush (for Baba Ganoush + Hummus).  I quickly realized it probably wouldn't be such a good idea.  Some things work, and some just don't.   I didn't want to take that chance. ;-)

Baba Ganoush
Ingredients
1 medium eggplant
1 cup cooked chickpeas
3 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.  

Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and place both halves in the baking dish, insides facing down.  Cover with foil and cook for 60 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow it to cool off before handling.

Remove seeds with a spoon, and the outer skin with a paring knife (it should be easy to remove).

Place eggplant, chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic in food processor/blender and blend until smooth.  Transfer mixture to a serving bowl and let cool for 1 hour before serving.




2 comments:

Val said...

LOL, I had to laugh about the headline as I always wonder about how it's being written too! ;)
I've only made it once and unfortunately too salty so since then I've never given it a try again... I should though, considering eggplants are readily available here! :)

xox

Christine said...

Isn't that funny? I don't know why it's written 3 different ways, LOL. This didn't taste too salty, I've been having it as a spread on bread in addition to dipping veggies in it, so good! :) xo