When Life Gives You Eggplant...

... make Baba Ghanouj!

CSA Share 7/31/2012

• Sun-gold Cherry Tomatoes
• Red Heirloom Slicing Tomatoes
• Garlic
• Red-leaf Lettuce
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini
• Yellow Summer Squash
• Scallions
• Green Beans
• Purple Eggplant

I love eggplant.  My lovely soon-to-be wife does not.  No matter what I do it them, short of breading/frying/red sauce/cheese-ing them, she will not eat them.  I've tried chopping them finely and putting them in stuffings for stuffed tomatoes - she found them.  I tried mixing them in with other highly seasoned roasted summer vegetables - she picked them all out.  Won't go near the things.

Don't get me wrong, I love eggplant parmaggiano as much as any other tomato-blooded Italian.  I have on good authority (mine) that my mom makes the best eggplant parm around.  I personally don't like making it, as we live in a small-ish two bedroom apartment, and the whole place smells like a fried dough stand for days afterwards.  It's just not my style.

So I climbed out on a limb this week and made hummus' cousin Baba Ghanouj with the 2 eggplants from our share.  With a healthy amount of gentle prodding, I got her to try some.  Success!  She liked it so much, she pushed aside last night's leftovers and brought the dip with CSA veggies and homemade pita chips for lunch today.  I will definitely be making this again when more of those purple beauties come our way.

Baba Ghanouj and Friends

• 2 medium eggplants
• 2/3 cups tahini paste
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped as finely as possible.
• 1 lemon, juiced.
• 2-3 scallions, sliced into little circles
• Smoked salt, smoked black pepper and smoked paprika, to taste.
• Small handful flat-leaf Italian parsley, chopped.
• Whatever raw CSA veggies you like, cut into dip-able sticks (e.g. carrots, cucumbers, zucchini, whole cherry tomatoes, etc).

[Note: While Baba Ghanouj is best made with eggplants roasted over an open flame to add a smoky element, I am tragically without a grill, and have a glass-top range where we live.  This recipe is designed for all of us yardless apartment dwellers.  I compensate for the lack of a grill by using smoked seasonings.  If you don't have any available, feel free to use regular salt, pepper and paprika, but do invest in a bottle of Liquid Smoke (available in most grocery stores), and add a few drops to your finished dip.

If using thin Japanese eggplant, I would cut roasting time by 2/3 but watch them closely, as I've never actually tried using them in this recipe...but it's a start.]

Preheat the oven to Bake 400.  Slice your eggplants in half lengthwise, then brush the cut side with olive oil.  Place on tin-foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes.  Use this time to cut up your CSA veggies, dig out that chip-and-dip someone bought you off of your wedding registry but you've never used, that sort of thing.  Scoop the flesh into a strainer or cheesecloth over a collander, and let the water drain out for about 20 minutes. Transfer the drained eggplant to a cutting board and chop with a knife until it's pretty creamy in texture.  Transfer to a mixing bowl, and add your other ingredients.  Set out with your cut veggies and enjoy!

Bonus Technique:  Homemade Pita Chips

Take your old, stale pita breads that are knocking around in your fridge, and rip them into chip sized pieces.  I like to seperate the two halves of the bread for double the amount of chips, but they'll be crunchier if you leave them together.  Dry roast on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes, or until they're crisp.  Let them cool, then store them in a Gladware, zip lock bag or something else air-tight.  If you don't let them cool before you put them away, they'll get sort of soggy and weird.