Baba Ganoush Recipe

I really wanted to title this post “How to use eggplants when you HATE them” because I really dislike eggplant. Nothing I’ve ever made with them has turned out remotely edible… until now.

Baba Ganoush is a smokey Middle Eastern dish that has the same texture as hummus. It’s really very easy to make and pretty healthy if you make it as I’ve done below. If you’ve never made hummus or Baba Ganoush, There is one unusual ingredient: Tahini. Tahini is the paste made from ground sesame seeds – it reminds me a bit of peanut butter. Make sure to stir Tahini really well before using – the paste is very dense at the bottom of the container.

Also be aware that this recipe is heavy on garlic. Use only 1 clove if you don’t want really bad breath. I love a strong garlic flavor and have only the kids at home who have to deal with garlic breath – so I went for 2 cloves.

Baba Ganoush Recipe

2 Eggplants sliced down the middle length-wise
1 tsp plus 1 Tbs Olive oil
2 Cloves peeled garlic
2 Tbs Tahini (make sure you stir well before using
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Ground turmeric
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
Sea salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat the oven to 375 F.
• Drizzle eggplants with 1 tsp of olive oil and bake on a baking sheet for about an hour or until fork tender. Once the eggplant has cooled, scoop out the flesh (sometimes you can peel off the skin) and put it into a food processor along with the rest of the olive oil and the remaining ingredients. You can adjust the spices and salt and pepper to taste if you’re partial to more of one spice. Run the food processor until the consistency resembles hummus.
• You can eat it warm or cool. Letting it sit in the fridge overnight gives the flavors a chance to blend.
• Serve the Baba Ganoush with toasted whole wheat pita, vegetable sticks, or toast. It’s a great appetizer or light dinner.
• One half cup and one pita loaf has about 250 calories.

Roasted Grape Tomato and Garlic Pesto Dip Recipe

Yesterday, I had a 3 pints of grape tomatoes languishing in my refrigerator, basil about to spoil on my window sill, and a party to attend which required the making of a side dish. Out of theses circumstances, a very popular appetizer was born.

I started with roasted tomatoes. I’ve made them this way before when I’ve wanted more of a sun-dried texture, but for this recipe I roasted them a different way so they’d be a bit juicier (see below).

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 Pints grape tomatoes
• Olive oil
• 3/4 C. Fresh parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 C. Fresh basil leaves, stems removed
• 1/2 C. Toasted pine nuts
• 1 Head Garlic, roasted

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the grape or cherry tomatoes and cut them in half lengthwise. Pour some olive oil and a pinch of salt into a large ziploc bag and add the tomato halves. Shake to cover tomatoes completely. Cover two sheet pans with tinfoil and place tomatoes, face up, onto pans.


Roast the head of garlic with the tomatoes.
Cook tomatoes and garlic for 30 min. Place roasted tomatoes, basil, pine nuts, roasted garlic, and Parmesan cheese into an 11 cup food processor. Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil into processor. Pulse until well combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.

* Flavor intensifies if made several hours before it’s eaten.
* Serve as a dip, spread, or sauce, hot or cold.

How to Roast Garlic

One of my favorite appetizers is roasted garlic with toasted baguettes. When garlic is roasted with a bit of olive oil, it’s pungent bite turns sweet and mild. Once roasted, each individual clove can be squeezed from it’s paper skin and spread like butter onto bread. Squeezing each clove can be messy, though, so if this is an appetizer for a party consider a tidier alternative. Peel all the cloves and whirl them for a minute in a food processor with herbs and a bit more olive oil. It makes a smooth and creamy spread.

While roasted garlic is a fantastic treat all by itself, it can also be used as an ingredient in other dishes and sauces. Use it in pesto for a milder taste, in tomato sauce, on pizza, or in homemade bread.

HOW TO ROAST GARLIC

1. Heat the oven to 350 F.
2. Cut off the pointy end of a whole garlic head so that most of the clove tops are partially exposed (see photo directly above).
3. Peel the extra paper skin from around the head.
4. Place the head in the middle of a square of tin foil.
5. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil over the top so that it seeps into and around the exposed cloves.
6. Twist the tin foil closed and place on a metal tray (see photo below).
7. Bake for about 30 minutes or until all the cloves are soft, like the consistency of room temperature butter.
8. Enjoy the delicious smell coming out of your oven.

Classic Pesto Recipe

As far as I’m concerned, basil is one of the easiest herbs to grow one reason we planted some in the school garden. It has a very distinctive flavor and pleasant odor which makes it a great addition to a sensory garden (a garden whose materials stimulate the user’s sense of smell, taste, sound, touch, and sight).

When mother nature has blessed you with a large crop of basil, the most logical dish to make is pesto, which is why I made a great big batch today. Our basil plant at school doesn’t produce quite enough to make pesto yet, but we were lucky enough to get the bundle you see below from our the CSA this week. To keep it fresh I store it like cut flowers, in a glass filled with water on the window sill.

Pesto can be easily made using a food processor although some people prefer to make it by hand chopping the ingredients for more than a half an hour. Heidi Swanson, from 101 Cookbooks, has great instructions on how (and why) to do this. my recipe will describe the food processor method.

INGREDIENTS:

2c. Basil leaves (approx.)
1/2 – 3/4c. Freshly grated parmesan cheese
3 Cloves of garlic
1/3c. Pine nuts toasted in a skillet
2 or 3 tbn Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Remove the stems from the basil leaves. Wash the leaves well to remove any dirt or sand. Place approximately 2 cups of packed basil leaves into the food processor, add the toasted pine nuts, garlic, and cheese. Pulse the processor until the mixture is somewhat smooth then drizzle olive oil into the mixture while it is processing. Continue pulsing until it is at the desired texture.

Enjoy with a thick noodle like linguine and a good crusty bread.