2 each eggplants, about 1 1/2 lbs.
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 each cloves garlic, crushed
1 salt to taste
1 olive oil
1 freshly chopped parsley,
1 paprika or pomegranate
1 seeds to garnish
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover baking sheet with foil. Wipe
eggplant and pierce with point of sharp knife. Place on prepared
baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 35 to 45 minutes. When cool
enough to handle, peel eggplants and remove seeds. Place in
container of food processor and sprinkle with lemon juice to keep
from browning.
2. Add tahini, garlic, and salt. Process until smooth.
3. Spread onto serving platter and pour small amount of olive oil
over top. Garnish with chopped parsley, paprika, or pomegranate
seeds. Serve with warmed pita bread and crudites. Cover and store in
refrigerator.
Notes: Baba ghanoush is a traditional dish of Lebanon and Syria, and
is often served with raw or blanced vegetables. The combined flavors
of eggplant, garlic, and lemon juice are very Mediteranean. For a
smokey flavor, grill eggplant over hot charcoal instead of baking in
the oven.
Variation: In Greece, olive oil is used instead of tahini. In Syria
yogurt is added for a lighter tasting dish. In Turkey it is called
Hunkar Begendi, tahini and garlic are omitted and 1 cup white sauce
and 1/3 cup grated cheese are mixed into the eggplant and heated
before serving.
Source: Secrets of Cooking, by Linda Chirinian (typed by Jane
Ghorbani)
Servings: 2 cups
Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant Appetizer) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Appetizer; Eggplant; Lebanese; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
We are able to follow the history of written recipes back into ancient history, certainly as far into history as the Egyptians, and possibly even further than that. In practice though, mostly, these ancient recipes were just simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for preparing meals.
The truth of the matter is, the oldest recipe discovered, according to academics are a few tablets in Sumerian which recount the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel `exhilarated, wonderful and blissful`. Later on, in The time of the roman empire around 25BC a man called Apicius created a number of scripts describing recipes cooked by the Romans. He describes how the meals were divided into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and dessert, something that is very familiar to us today. Aspicius recounts how the ancient Romans made use of a good variety of herbs and spices, including a few that are still present in modern kitchens for example basil, mint and asafoetida. During the following few hundred years, the rich families of the West competed with each other to lay on the best banquets, and consequentially cooks and their collection of recipes were at a premium. Notwithstanding that, it wasn`t until the 1800s that haute cuisine and recipe publications became really popular. The Famous Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, verifying, and recording the recipes of their peers. By the time we get to the 1900s, cooking publications were in high demand, due to better eduction, people having more free time and having more disposable income. The arrival of television brings us cooking programs and the spin-off recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everyone to search through massive numbers of recipes such as those found on our web site. |
We hope you enjoy this Baba Ghanoush (Eggplant Appetizer) recipe.
