Conference turris::cooks

    There is a middle eastern dish - Hummus - which sounds similar, with
    chick peas, Tahini, garlic and oil (I think).  Plenty of those recipes
    in here.
    
    Don't know the one with eggplant - but I hope someone does and posts
    the recipe here.
    
    Marilyn
    

    I have a middle-eastern cookbook at home and will check.  If any of you
    ever visit the D.C. area, there is a WONDERFUL Lebanese restaurant
    called "Lebanese Taverna" that makes splendid baba ghanoush.  It is
    tastier than hummus.  Theirs had olive oil drizzled on top and
    pomegranite seeds.  Served with homemade, still warm, pita.  
    
    I'll look tonight.
    
                   

    I forgot the olive oil.  I had it served with small triangles of pita
    bread for scooping.  Since everyone at the table had some, we didn't
    have to worry about garlic breath as the ghanoush contained LOTS of
    garlic.
    
    L
    

    
    
    
    I brought my Armenian cookbook in today (called "Armenian Cooking Today
    by Alice Antreassian).  So, here is her version of the dish.  What I
    had recently in the restaurant did not have tomatoes in it, and as I
    said, had olive oil on top as well as the pomegranite seeds.  
    Hope this helps.
    
    
    Baba Ghanoosh
    
    1 large eggplant, about one pound
    1 cup sesame seed paste
    1/4 cup lemon juice
    3 cloves garlic, mashed
    1 medium onion, minced
    1 medium tomato, peeled and finely chopped
    1 tablespoon fresh parsley
    1 teaspoon salt
    3 tablespoons olive oil
    
    1.  Wipe eggplant and roat on top of stove over low flame, turning
    until skin chars, about fifteen minutes.  (Alternate method is to place
    eggplant in a baking dish and broil about 2 inches from heat.  Turn to
    broil on all sides.)  Eggplant will collapse.
    
    2.  Slit eggplant lengthwise and place in colander cut side down to
    drain out bitter juices.  When eggplant has cooled, peel it and discard
    any large seeds.  Mash pulp to a smooth puree.
    
    3.  Add remaining ingredients and mix gently.  Taste to correct
    seasoning, then refrigerate.
    
    4.  Serve in a shallow dish garnished with sprigs of parsley.  Sprinkle
    sumac lightly on top.   [I have no idea what sumac is]
    
    4-6 servings
    
    

    For the Syrian version -- omit the onions, tomatoes, parsley and
    olive oil.

    THe versions I've eaten have had a smokey flavor to it, almost as if
    "Liquid SMoke" was added.  Maybe the egplant was grilled or smoked
    first? I prefer the smoked flavor over the versions posted here.  Any
    ideas on how this is accomplished at home?  Also were very tart...lots
    of lemon juice.  No onion, tomatoes or parsley, either.
    

    The smoky flavor comes from the grilling.  You can do it on the range
    if you have gas, otherwise in the oven, or in a metal pan in the gas or
    charcoal grill.  The smoky flavor is from the charring of the skin,
    which is removed in preparation.  Be aware that if you do it on the gas
    range, it can be kinda messy.  But very tasty.
    
    In it's simplest form, it's tahini dip with the addition of
    eggplant. 
    
    Laura

It's a good thing to poke some holes in the eggplant before grilling/
roasting. Otherwise it won't be kinda messy - it will be VERY messy...

Someone asked about sumac - it is a reddish-purple spice with a rather sour
flavor. It is made from the fruit (I think) of the sumac plant. It is
quite common in middle eastern food.

 - Naomi

P.S. - re. .2: Are you sure they were pomegranate seeds? Sounds more likely
to be pine seeds (they are used a lot in this area and I guess they could
be used to garnish an eggplant salad).

    Yeah, they were pomegranite seeds!  (Little pink/red juicy sweet
    kernals).  Pine nuts were used to garnish other dishes at this
    restaurant.  Actually the pomegranite seeds added some pretty color and
    a flavor refresher.  Very nice
    

Easy Baba Ghanoush 
------------------

Pierce and Bake a large eggplant until soft (1 1/2 hours at abouty 375 degrees).

Peel and cube eggplant.  Mush (using food processor) with:
1 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
Plenty of garlic (3-4 pressed cloves)
1 TBSP mayonaise.

    Here's how I make it.
    
    Take a large eggplant and prick it all over with a fork.  Put it on the
    grill for about 10 minutes, turning often.  The eggplant will pick up a
    "smoky" flavor from the grill.  It will also collapse and shrivel a
    bit.  Keep cooking until it collapses (it needs to be soft).  Remove
    from heat and let it cool.
    
    In the supermarket (Purity in this area), I buy a small can of tahini
    sauce made by Telma.  The sauce contains tahini (sesame seed paste),
    lemon juice, garlic, some pureed chick peas (not enough to make it into
    hummus - just enough to give some body to the sauce) and olive oil.
    
    I put this small can of tahini sauce in the food processor.  Then I
    peel the eggplant and cut it into small enough chunks to fit into the
    processor and let it go until it is smooth.  You can also add extra
    garlic to taste.

    The trick to the smoky flavor is to char the skin well, as others have
    said.  But you also have to scrape the inside of the skin well,
    afterwards.  The smokiest flavor is right under the skin, obviously.
    Then again, you can just stop in at the El Morocco in Worcester and
    pick up an order or three.  Delicious!
    
    Sandy