What Lovely Eggplants

While shopping the other day I came across the most lovely eggplants. They were small but not tiny, and perfectly purple and smooth and though they weren’t on my list I decided I must have them! I love eggplants, they have the same earthy robust quality that mushrooms have. If you’re having a vegan or vegetarian meal, and want to add something with density and meatiness without using a meat substitute, mushrooms and eggplants are the way to go. That being said, my plans for these beauties was not to make them into dinner, they were headed for the dip bowl!

Babaganoush. As much fun to say as it is to eat! Babaganoush literally translated means spoiled father (actually father spoiled, but we Americans like our adjectives as an appetizer). I cannot tell you why this dish has this name, but many Middle Eastern dishes have amusing names. One of my other favorite eggplant dishes is a Turkish one named Imam Bayildi which means the emperor sighed (or swooned, depending on your translation), and now that I’ve brought it up, I will need to write about that soon, as it is a wondrous dish. Come to think of it, I think May will be a month of EGGPLANT! If you don’t like it, I hope you’ll be ready to keep an open mind.

Growing up in the 70’s we ate lots of Middle Eastern food, it was hip, and hippie. We’d hang out at Saturday night parties dipping our pita into hummus and babaganoush, listening to Joni Mitchell and the Dead, until 11:30 when everything would stop and we’d all pile into the den, or whatever room the TV was in, to watch Saturday Night Live. The first episode aired in October of 1975, and we were there! Well about 25 miles east of there, glued to the TV every Saturday night, no matter what else was happening. I think we watched every episode as a group from October 1975 until we all left for our respective colleges in September of 1976.

This post-Watergate world (at least in the North East where I lived) was a world suddenly turning a culinary eye beyond France and we started eating more globally. We ate molé and guacamole, stuffed grape leaves and moussaka, paella, and whole grain breads, salad bars were born, and suddenly vegetarians were everywhere! And what did they eat? This was a pre-Moosewood, pre-extra-virgin olive oil time, and we thought we were pretty edgy eating our hummus and babaganoush! Now you can buy about thirty five varieties of hummus at any grocery store in the U.S. but in 1975 it didn’t exist unless you made it yourself.

Though hummus has become ubiquitous, babaganoush is less so. You can buy it at some stores like Whole Foods Market, but you have 2-3 options, not thirty. The flavors are less mild, and the consistency less creamy, though if you make it in a food processor it will be creamier than if you hand mash it. I like it because its flavors are smoky and deep. It isn’t quite as lush as hummus, but it is meatier. Like most recipes you’ll find here, it’s east to prepare, and well worth the effort. Even of you’re not having a ‘throw-back-Thursday’ 70’s party please give eggplants a whirl and whip up some babaganoush, even if it’s just so you can repeat the word as often as I have in this post!

Babaganoush

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Ingredients

• 2lb Eggplant
• 2 tablespoons Tahini
• 1 clove Garlic (put through a garlic press)
• Juice of one lemon

Directions

Step 1

Prick eggplants all over with a fork Then wrap each eggplant well in a double layer of heavy foil, or three layers of regular foil If the eggplants are small you can wrap two or three together

Step 2

Turn gas burners on medium-high and lay the foil packages directly on the burners Turn the packages every 5 minutes for a total time of 20 minutes

Step 3

Let the eggplants cool in the foil, then carefully remove foil Steam will escape, and the packets will be full of hot liquid from the eggplants

Step 4

Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise, and put into a colander to let the liquid drain Press the eggplants with the back od a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible

Step 5

Put the eggplant and the remaining ingredients into a bowl and using a potato masher, mash the mixture together until,it is fluffy Alternatively you can put all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to blend the mixture well

Step 6

To serve drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika Serve with pita wedges or pita chips