kerewin's whine cellar

Baba Ganoush

Back when I first moved to Seattle to go to the University of Washington I lived close to a natural food store. Because I didn't have a car it was easy to go there and had the upside of making me feel good about myself. I also got to explore all sorts of food I never tasted before.

Like baba ganoush. The second I tried it, I knew I wasn't in SpoKansas anymore. Smoky and rich, it should be a holy food. I could eat it every day.

Since the ingredients are fairly basic (garlic, roasted eggplant, tahini, lemon juice, and parsley) I always wanted to make it. But something stopped me. Fear. Making baba ganoush from scratch was alien to me and I was afraid to screw it up. I feel the same way about cooking duck. So the other night I was flipping through channels and got stuck on the Food Network (not surprising, is it?) and Emeril Lagasse. He was making "Food On The Go." He roasted eggplant and made a spread very close to baba ganoush. However, it didn't have any tahini and looked rather runny. So I decided to make it myself, because I was sure I could do better. And I think I did.

The first run on the baba ganoush was good, but not perfect. It was too lemon-y and I put in too much tahini. Who knew that 1/2th of a cup would be too much? Sesame paste is some strong shit, yo! Anyway for those interested, this is the basic recipe (I did adjust the tahini and the lemon):

1 medium sized eggplant
2 cloves garlic
juice from one small lemon
1/4th cup tahini
fresh parsley, cleaned and finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

I used the grill to roast the eggplant but the stove works just as well. Roast on medium for about 45 minutes turning periodically, until the skin is blackened. Remove from heat, cool for a few minutes and pull skin off, it will peel right off. Chop into largeish cubes and drain in a colander until room temperature. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend. I went to finely belnded but next time I want it a bit chunkier and will probably pulse. Garnish with some more fresh chopped parsley and drizzle with olive oil, serve with pita chips.

I can't believe I had to rely on Emeril to show me I could easily, and cheaply make baba ganoush, the food of the gods! Now that I have the power people, look out!

(An aside, how is it that Al Roker gets a kitchen/food show AFTER he loses all that weight????? Didn't he get there by NOT eating?)

And just in case you aren't totally annoyed by singing and dancing creatures on the net: Peanut Butter Jelly Time (thanks to N.E.D., that punk)

Posted by kerewin at July 23, 2005 08:57 PM