Chow Chow (Picalilli Relish) Recipe

The origins of chow chow are rather obtuse. Some say the Brits brought this relish back from India, based on the sweet chutneys that accompanied the cuisine. Others say it's just a version of gherkin pickling that arose out of the need to keep vegetables in an edible state during the brutally cold and wet winters. Britons even call it by another name: picalilli relish.

Whatever the case may be, chow chow eventually found its way to North America, where it gained popularity in the South, and based on an ungodly amount of green tomatoes. I researched recipes from Britain all the way west to Canada and down through Louisiana, and this is my personal, international version of chow chow (or picalilli, however you want to call it).

The American Saveur's Chow Chow Recipe

1/4 large head of cabbage (not napa or savoy)
1 lbs of green tomatoes
1 yellow bell pepper
2 small yellow onions
1/4 cauliflower head

4 cups of apple cider vinegar
3 cups of white sugar

1 tbsp ground turmeric
3 heaping tbsp of dry yellow mustard powder (Colemans is best)
4 heaping tbsp of AP flour
1 tsp of cornstarch
3/4 cup water

Finely chop all vegetables and mix together. Set aside.

Pour vinegar and sugar into large, non-reactive pot on medium heat until sugar is melted and vinegar is warm. Pour chopped vegetables into pot and turn up heat on high until vegetables boil. Turn down heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes.

Mix dried spices, flour, cornstarch and water together to form a paste. At the 45 minute mark, pour the spice mixture and stir until it is well-combined. Turn up heat to med-high and stir for 10 minutes until mixture thickens. Turn off heat, set aside.

Using some sterilized jars, scoop batches of chow chow into each container and sterilize in hot water bath. Set aside, and refrigerate when containers are cool to the touch.

Makes enough relish for 3-5 large pickle jars or 6-7 jam/preserve jars. Serve as condiment to sausages, hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches, cheese plates or breakfast items.

Baba Ghanoush

I love a good Mediterranean platter full of dips, toasty pita and savory bites. Pickled radishes, briny olives, tapenade and roasted peppers. Creamy hummus and smooth baba ghanoush. Oh man, there is nothing better than a freshly ground roasted eggplant with the bite of raw garlic and zingy lemon juice.

I lived with a girl in university with Armenian roots, and her father Pierre made the best baba ghanoush I have ever eaten. Pierre won't give up his secret recipe, but I think I have come close.

Interestingly enough, the eggplant originated in South Asia. It's a nightshade that is closely related to the tomato and potato plant. It's also not surprising that one of my favorite Indian dishes is bhengan bartha, another smooth dip-like eggplant dish eaten with naan, an Indian flatbread. I wonder if traders along the Spice Route during the first century AD brought back the eggplant and showed the people in the Parthan and Roman empires how to eat it, and the baba ghanoush is actually a derivation of the Indian dish? Who knows. All I know is that I love it in all of its wonderful incarnations.

Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients

2 large eggplants
1/4 cup your best extra virgin olive oil
garlic salt
2 large cloves of raw garlic, chopped and smashed
sea salt
finely ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp of lemon juice
1 tsp of chopped flat-leaf parsley (or cilantro or green onions)

Preheat oven to 200C

Split your eggplant in half and rub the flesh side with olive oil. Sprinkle some garlic salt onto the flesh-side of the eggplant, no need to get it on skin since we won't be using it later. Roast the eggplant in the oven for 15 minutes, until browned and soft. Let it sit out for 15-20 minutes until cool and then peel the skin off. Chop into large chunks and toss in food processor along with garlic, sea salt, pepper, tahini, lemon juice and half of the olive oil.

Process until smooth paste forms.

Place in bowl or large ramekin. Drizzle olive oil over and top with garnish of your choice. Sprinkle some more sea salt and pepper. Eat with warm pita, your favorite flat bread or vegetable crudites.