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.

Kumara and Root Vegetable Roast

2 large carrots
2 medium parsnips
1/2 large white Korean radish (daikon)
1/2 large kumara
2 medium boiling potatoes
2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Cut vegetables (except the potatoes) into medium bite-sized pieces, around the same size so they cook evenly in the roasting pan. Set aside in roasting pan.

Set oven to 325F or 163C

Put whole potatoes in medium pot and fill with water, with enough water to cover the potatoes with at least 3 cm over the top. Throw some salt into the water, cover and bring to boil. Once the water is at rolling boil, uncover and set heat at low for another 10 minutes, making sure the potato does not cook down too softly. Remove potatoes from water, set in cold water to stop cooking and remove skin. Cut potatoes into same sizes as other vegetables and throw into roasting pan.

Take olive oil and pour over the vegetables, using hands to toss and evenly coat each piece. Throw in salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and rosemary. Toss until ingredients are evenly coated with spices and cheese. Put in oven and roast until golden brown and soft, which will take about 30 minutes.

Remove vegetables and place in serving bowl or plate. Finely chop flat leaf parsley and sprinkly over top, then drizzle with butter. Enjoy!