Baba Ghanoush. HG suggests you roll these two words around your mouth. Sounds delicious, doesn ‘t it? It is. Basically a spicy eggplant puree, baba ghanoush can be the center piece of a fast, simple Middle Eastern meal.
Here’s how you do it: Prick an eggplant all over with a fork and roast it at 400 degrees until it’s soft. When soft, scoop out the interior and discard the skin. Mash the eggplant with a lot of minced garlic, some tahini, lemon juice, cumin. Salt and pepper, of course. HG will not give specific proportions. Be creative and make it your own creation. Some very finely minced onion can be added, if you like. Form it into a mound. Make a well in the middle and fill with fruity (HG likes Sicilian) olive oil and drizzle some over the rest. Sprinkle with Za’atar. Surround with Kalamata olives and sliced tomatoes. If you want some heat add some Italian hot pepper flakes. Goes good with lamb chops and lamb burgers. Pass the warm pita.
[…] and bake them in the oven. Is it worth all the bother? No. HG will stick with the much simpler Baba Ghanoush. “Imam Bayildi,” roughly translated from Turkish, means “the Imam fainted.” […]