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Rave reviewed baba ghanoush

I’ve been working on my Baba Ghanoush for a little while now and I think that I’ve hit a home run now. Even the teenagers I tested it out on loved it (well most of them any way).

But 2 nights ago I tested it on some very refined pallets (some of whom had actually eaten real baba ganouche in the Middle East) and they said mine was as good as they had ever tasted. So there you go. A little shameless bragging and a great recipe.

For those trying to add more vegetables/fiber to their diet this one is great. It is a little heavy on the fat, and not so good on the protein, but as I have said before a little fat goes a long way to filling you up. It just needs to be done in moderation.

A word of warning, this is meant as an appetizer, or as a filler, not as a whole meal. If you eat this until you are full – well, that would be a caloric disaster:)

So I’m going to include 1 other recipe as well, and an idea on how to combine them for a very healthy complete meal.

Baba Ghanoush Recipe

First, take your Egg Plants (you’ll need 1 eggplant for every 5 people if it is an appetizer and every 10 if you are going to use it in the sandwiches I’m showing you here). Put the Egg plant in the oven set on 350 degrees. Cook it until the skin is almost black.

Second, while the egg plant is cooking, you have to make your own tahini sauce. This is the key to really good baba ghanoush in my opinion.

Take 1 cup of fresh sesame seeds (this will work for 1-2 egg plants), put them on a pan and roast them for about 10 minutes. Once they start turning brown you can pull them out.

Put the seeds into a blender with about 1/4 cup of olive oil, 2 Tbls of lemon juice and 4 cloves of garlic Blend them together adding more olive oil and lemon juice as needed for the mixture to be a little runny. It should be shake like in consistency.

Now, set a side.

Your egg plants should be read now. When you pull them out they will be very plump, take a hot pad and hold them by the stem, and run the plant under cold water quickly. This will cause the skin to contract and it will make getting the flesh part out very easy.

Now cut it into quarters and don’t breath! Maybe it is just me, but I do not like the smell of plain egg plant. Trust me, if you can get past that part, the rest is worth it:)

Use a knife to separate the flesh part from the skin. Discard the skin (that is the stinky part), and dice up the rest of the flesh into a bowl and mash it as best you can.

Now, take the tahini sauce you have made, an add about 1/2 cup for every 1 egg plant that you are using.

Use a blender to mix them well. Now add salt to taste 1-2 tsp  per egg plant will probably do it.

Now for the final preparation, If you are going to use this as an appetiser, take a red pepper, chop about 1/4 of it into small pieces. Then take the rest and slice it into strips.

Take a serving bowl and place the baba ghanoush inside, and make a swimming pool. You’ll want an edge you can put the garnish on, and a pool in the middle. Put the chopped peper in the middle, and pour olive oil into the pool. Then sprinkle with red peper flakes.

Now on the edges arrange the slices and some fresh parsley in whatever manner seams pleasing to you.

And you’re done! Get some pitas and enjoy.

Now, if you are going to follow my advice and use this as a sauce, here is the rest of what you want to do.

Middle Eastern Tomato Salad

Take 2 parts tomato and 1 part cucumber (increase or decrease the amounts depending on how much you need). Chop the tomato into chunks. On the cucumber slice off some of the skin on 4 sides. Then dice it into quarters and then into smaller chunks. I personally do not like too much of the cucumber skin. And I think that it looks nicer to have the light and dark combo on the cucumber.

Now add about 3 cloves of garlic for ever 2 large tomatoes you use.

And about 1/8 of an onion (diced) for every 2 large tomatoes.

lightly cover in olive oil and a little lemon juice. And mix it all together.

Ok, your just about ready to eat now.

If you are going to go Vegetarian style you can make up some couscous, if you are like me and enjoy a little meat you can use a nice marinated stake with this. Or do both!

On both of those, just make them as you normally would.

Now take a pita, put in some couscous. Then a layer of baba ghanoush, now the meat if you are going to do that. Now add the Salad, and then top with some more baba ghanoush.

Now you can really enjoy it!

If you are using this recipe as part of weight loss regime, then 1 half of a pita stuffed full of this good stuff will be enough for a small meal. If you are like me I find that I lose weight the best when I’m eating smaller more frequent meals, and when those meals are very filling.

This recipe if full of fiber and a healthy dose of olive oil fats. It will keep you full for a few hours for sure. And then if you’ve not had enough you can eat it again the next meal. And the next. And the next!

It is a great recipe that can be prepared ahead of time and eaten for several days. In fact it is often better to let it all sit for a few hours just to let the flavors mix better together.

Be Healthy – Enjoy Life!

Matthew Stearmer

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