Baba Ganush, the Eggplant “Hummus” of the Middle East

Place the whole eggplant in the oven medium-high until they become soft, cooked, about 1 or 2 hours at 180 degrees depending on the size. Once  cooked, let them cool, open them in two lengthwise, collect the pulp with a spoon and let it drain in the fridge.  Once cool, blend them together with 2 tablespoons of the sesame paste “Thain”, natural yoghurt, a clove of garlic and about half of a squeezed lemon.  Check salt and then put it on a plate. Cut the tomatoes into small cubes and dice a cucumber.  Garnish with these vegetables and sprinkle with some chopped parsley.  I also added some onion seeds (which look like black sesame), one of my favourite spices. They have a particular fragrance that reminds me of the Middle East and India. There are a lot of variants for this dish: with cumin, pomegranate juice, black olives and paprika.  I also add a little paprika, the Spanish “pimienton de la vera”, at the end.  The best baba gnash is made with a smoked touch.  To achieve this smoke flavour, you can also cook the eggplant on a barbecue (still whole).  Finish the dish with extra virgin olive oil and serve with pita bread or croutons.

10. May 2012 - admin
Categories: starters, from other countries , vegetarian dishes, snacks, Uncategorized | Tags: baba ganush, cetriolo, cocina arabe, cremoso de berenjena, humus de berenjena, humus of aubergine, melanzane, moutabal, mutabal, onion seeds, pepino, piatto arabo, pomodori, semi di cipolla, semilla de cebolla, thain, yogurt | 3 comments